Thursday, February 28, 2013
BBC: The Pope has resigned because he felt he was no longer up to the demands the office made on him.
That hasn't happened in 600 years.
In 1294 the hermit Pietro da Morrone, elevated to the papacy with the title of Celestine V because the cardinals couldn't agree on anyone else, felt likewise after only six months in the job, and gave up.
He wanted to return to his hermitage, but Boniface VIII, his successor, thought it wiser to lock him up in a convenient castle for the rest of his life, fearing he might become a rallying-point for the disaffected.
And, as it turned out, there was no shortage of disaffection during Boniface's pontificate.
One of the arguments marshalled by Boniface's many enemies was that, because popes could not resign, he wasn't the legitimate heir to St Peter.
Electing an antipope?
That may have been a long time ago but the same arguments are beginning to appear.
Two distinguished Italian theologians have called on Benedict XVI to withdraw his resignation, one arguing he ought not to resign, the other claiming a pope cannot resign.
In the latter case, when the cardinals proceed to elect a successor they are, according to Enrico Maria Radaelli, electing an antipope, an impostor on the chair of St Peter. » | Michael Walsh * | Papal historian | Thursday, February 28, 2013
* Michael Walsh is a papal historian and author of several books about the Papacy, including The Popes: 50 celebrated occupants of the throne of St Peter
DAWN: PRZEMYSL: Poland, for Zaida Saleh, like for many observant Muslim women, manicures have long posed a religious problem.
With prayers five times a day, and the pre-prayer ritual of “wudhu” that requires washing the hands and arms, traditional fingernail polish has been mostly off limits because it prevents water from making contact with the nails. A new ”breathable” nail polish by a Polish company, Inglot, is changing that.
The company and some Muslims say the polish is the first of its kind because it lets air and moisture pass through to the nail. A craze has built up around it with Muslim women in recent months after an Islamic scholar in the United States tested its permeability and published an article saying that, in his view, it complies with Muslim law.
”It’s huge,” said Saleh, a 35-year-old who hadn’t polished her nails in many years but immediately went out and bought the product in five colours, including a bright pink, a burgundy and a mauve. ”I am excited. I feel more feminine – and I just love it.”
The news of Inglot’s breathable polish has in recent months spread quickly from woman to woman and over the Internet. It also has given Inglot a boost in sales of the product, called O2M, for oxygen and moisture.
The nail polish now stands as one of the final life achievements of Wojciech Inglot, a Polish chemist and entrepreneur who developed it to create what he billed as a healthier alternative to traditional nail enamels, which block the passage of moisture and oxygen to the nail. He died suddenly on Saturday at the age of 57 after suffering internal hemorrhaging.
Though the Holy Quran, does not specifically address the issue of nail polish, some Islamic scholars have said that water must touch the surface of the nail for the washing ritual to be done correctly.
Nobody was more surprised by the splash it made with Muslims than Inglot himself. » | AP | Wednesday, February 27, 2013
LE POINT: En visite à Moscou, le président français a insisté sur le fait qu'une solution au conflit syrien dépendait "beaucoup" de la position de son homologue russe.
François Hollande, en visite de travail jeudi à Moscou, espère avancer vers une solution politique au conflit syrien avec son homologue russe Vladimir Poutine, avec lequel il entend aussi parler droits de l'homme. La relation entre la France et la Russie est "majeure parce que nous sommes deux grands pays membres du Conseil de sécurité (de l'ONU) et qui ont des responsabilités pour régler des conflits planétaires", a déclaré le président français au début de ses entretiens avec Vladimir Poutine au Kremlin. Le président russe a indiqué pour sa part que la France restait un "partenaire privilégié" de Moscou, que les relations étaient "très bonnes" et le dialogue politique "très bon". Mais l'ambiance sous les ors du Kremlin était glaciale entre les deux hommes qui ont à peine croisé le regard pendant leurs deux interventions de près d'une dizaine de minutes devant les journalistes. » | Source AFP | jeudi 28 février 2013
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le mystère reste entier sur le nom de celui qui sera choisi par les cardinaux réunis en conclave. Une dizaine de noms de «papabili» circulent déjà dans les coulisses du Vatican. » | afp/Newsnet | jeudi 28 février 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: In a bid to address widespread public outrage over greed in the financial sector, European officials have agreed to legislation capping bankers' bonuses at a maximum of a year's salary. Great Britain fought to prevent the measure, but failed to rally enough support.
Starting in 2014, banks in the European Union must limit bonus payments for their employees. After some 10 months of tough negotiations, top European officials agreed late on Wednesday in Brussels to cap bonuses at a maximum of one year's base salary.
"For the first time in the history of EU financial market regulation, we will cap bankers' bonuses," said the European Parliament's head negotiator, Austria's Othmar Karas, in a statement. "The essence is that from 2014, European banks will have to set aside more money to be more stable and concentrate on their core business, namely financing the real economy, that of small and medium-sized enterprises and jobs."
The bonus cap was part of a package of financial laws hammered out between EU officials, the European Commission and representatives of the 27 member states in negotiations led by Ireland's Finance Minister Michael Noonan. The goal is to prevent bankers from taking excessive risks, which can shake the financial industry.
"This overhaul of EU banking rules will make sure that banks in the future have enough capital, both in terms of quality and quantity, to withstand shocks," Noonan said. "This will ensure that taxpayers across Europe are protected into the future." Fierce Resistance from London » | kla -- with wire reports | Thursday, February 28, 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Letzter Arbeitstag als Papst: Benedikt verspricht Nachfolger bedingungslosen Gehorsam – Der nächste Papst kann mit der vollen Unterstützung seines Vorgängers rechnen: Benedikt XVI. hat bei einem Abschiedstreffen mit Kardinälen gesagt, er werde seinem Nachfolger bedingungslos Ehrfurcht und Gehorsam erweisen. » | Donnerstag, 28. Februar 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Cardinal George Pell, Australia's most senior Catholic, has criticised the Pope on his last day, describing his historic resignation as destabilising, while questioning his political prowess.
Cardinal Pell, Australia's representative at next month's secret conclave to elect a successor, said Benedict XVI was a "brilliant teacher" but "government wasn't his strong point" in a candid interview on the eve of the pope's departure.
"I think I prefer somebody who can lead the Church and pull it together a bit," Cardinal Pell said.
He pointed to the so-called "Vatileaks" scandal, in which Benedict's butler leaked secret papal memos revealing intrigues between rival groups of cardinals, though he said it was "very easy to be wise after the event".
"I think the governance is done by most of the people around the Pope and that wasn't always done brilliantly. And I'm not breaking any ground there – this is said very commonly," Cardinal Pell added in a later radio interview from the Vatican.
Australia's most senior Catholic cleric also said the 85-year-old pontiff's decision to resign – the first pope to do so since the Middle Ages – set a worrying precedent for the Church. » | Source: AFP | Thursday, February 28, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Part funeral, part jubilee, the Vatican had never witnessed an event like this before. People flocked from all over the globe to acknowledge the retiring Pope Benedict
For a man surrounded by so many thousands of well-wishers in St Peter’s Square, Pope Benedict looked small and very lonely in the shade of a utilitarian metal canopy on the steps before the vast baroque facade. The morning sun caught the lower part of his white cassock as mothers with little children waved flags.
“The Pope is not the only steersman in the barque of Peter,” he said. But the very setting suggested that he was the unmistakable captain. Bang in the centre of that stone outdoor theatre he sat, a few paces from the prelates who flanked him.
Benedict had read his obituaries in the past few days, hurriedly converted into analyses of his papacy. Now he was presiding at his own funeral, or something like it: the last public ceremonial of his papacy. But the atmosphere was more like a royal jubilee. When he paused in speaking, the continuous sound of applause in the column-hugged square was like heavy rain on a roof. No other pope has gone through anything like yesterday’s farewell. Celestine V ran away into the hills in 1296; Gregory XII in 1415 left his throne empty for a successor to be elected after his death.
In Britain we are used to monarchy. “The King is dead,” says the proclamation. “God save the King.” No sooner is one monarch lifeless than the next begins his reign. But between popes there is a sede vacante (Latin: ablative absolute, “the chair being empty”). It has always been connected in thought with the death of a pope. » | Christopher Howse, Rome | Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
THE GUARDIAN: Pharmaceutical companies accused of cutting supplies because of low profits and unpaid bills
Greece is facing a serious shortage of medicines amid claims that pharmaceutical multinationals have halted shipments to the country because of the economic crisis and concerns that the drugs will be exported by middlemen because prices are higher in other European countries.
Hundreds of drugs are in short supply and the situation is getting worse, according to the Greek drug regulator. The government has drawn up a list of more than 50 pharmaceutical companies it accuses of halting or planning to halt supplies because of low prices in the country.
More than 200 medicinal products are affected, including treatments for arthritis, hepatitis C and hypertension, cholesterol-lowering agents, antipsychotics, antibiotics, anaesthetics and immunomodulators used to treat bowel disease.
Separately, it was announced on Tuesday that the Swiss Red Cross was slashing its supply of donor blood to Greece because it had not paid its bills on time.
Chemists in Athens describe chaotic scenes with desperate customers going from pharmacy to pharmacy to look for prescription drugs that hospitals could no longer dispense.
The government list includes some of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca. Pfizer, Roche and Sanofi all said a few products had been withheld. GSK and AstraZeneca denied the claims. » | Elizabeth Sukkar and Helena Smith in Athens | Wednesday, February 27, 2013
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: VATICAN CITY—Pope Benedict XVI held the final audience of his pontificate before a sea of spectators in Saint Peter's Square on Wednesday, a farewell he said would not mark the end of his life in public.
Addressing the crowd, Pope Benedict, 85 years old, said he had "suffered" over his decision to relinquish control of Roman Catholicism's one billion followers as of Thursday evening, adding that his resignation was in the best interest of the Church.
Though he plans to retire to a life of study and prayer once he steps down, the pontiff told the crowd on Wednesday there was no going back to his pre-papal life, noting that his election eight years ago marked the end of "all privacy."
"There is no return to the private. My decision to renounce the active exercise of ministry doesn't revoke this. I'm not returning to a private life," Pope Benedict said, addressing the square, which thronged with banners from around the world. "I'm not abandoning the cross, but remaining in a new way beside the crucified Lord," he said. » | Stacy Meichtry | Wednesday, February 27, 2013
ABC NEWS [AU]: The ABC has gone into damage control after it was discovered the website of one of its television programs was targeted in a hack that has affected thousands of viewers.
A Twitter user going by the name of Phr0zenMyst claimed ownership of the attack, framing it as a response to the ABC's recent coverage of the visit by right-wing Dutch MP Geert Wilders.
The hacker, based overseas, said they were upset by the ABC's decision to "[give] a platform for Geert Wilders to spread hatred".
The hack exposed the user names, email addresses and some personal information of more than 40,000 people - viewers who had logged in and commented on the website of the 2010 program Making Australia Happy.
The ABC was forced to scramble for answers, saying the website in question was shut down as soon as the breach was detected.
It has promised to contact each of the web users exposed. (+ video) » | Hayden Cooper | Wednesday, February 27, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Pope has told a huge crowd of followers that his papacy had moments of joy but at times is "seemed like the Lord was sleeping", in his last audience in St Peter's Square.
Addressing an estimated 150,000 people in St Peter's Square the day before he steps down, Benedict said his crisis-hit papacy had included moments of joy but also difficulty when, "It seemed like the Lord was sleeping."
Benedict XVI referred to "stormy waters and headwinds" during his pontificate, but he said God would not let the Church "sink".
"The Lord gave us days of sun and of light breeze, days in which the fishing was good. There were also moments when there were stormy waters and headwinds," he said.
Benedict thanked his cardinals, colleagues and ordinary faithful for their support and for respecting his decision to become the first pope in 600 years to resign. He said that "to love the church means also to have the courage to take difficult, painful decisions, always keeping the good of the church in mind, not oneself."
He told thousands that his decision to resign "is the fruit of a serene trust in God's will and a deep love of Christ's church." » | Chris Irvine, and Nick Squires in The Vatican City | Wednesday, February 27, 2013
My comment:
I am not a Roman Catholic, but I firmly believe that Pope Benedict XVI has been a wonderful pope. His words have often touched me profoundly. That has never happened to me before.
This man has charisma – in German, one might call it eine Ausstrahlung – that is quite unique. For his age, he is a very handsome man, with a truly wonderful smile and warmth.
His erudition is remarkable, as is his dedication to the RC Church and faith. For me, this is a sad day, though I respect fully his reasons for resigning.
It is to be hoped that he will be able to enjoy his retirement, with sound health. I feel sure that the rest of his life will be dedicated to the Church.
May God bless Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. – © Mark
This comment also appears here
THE GUARDIAN: Pope Benedict XVI's final audience - in pictures »
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINER ZEITUNG: „Gott wird seine Kirche nicht kentern lassen“: Unter dem Jubel Hunderttausender hat Benedikt XVI. auf dem Petersplatz seine letzte Generalaudienz eröffnet. In seiner Audienz dankte Benedikt den Gläubigen - und sprach von „schwierigen Momenten“ in seinem Pontifikat. » | Mittwoch, 27. Februar 2013
LE FIGARO: Les adieux émouvants du pape Benoît XVI : À la veille de sa démission historique, Benoît XVI a été acclamé par une foule chaleureuse, mercredi au Vatican. Il a assuré que «Dieu ne laisse pas couler la barque» de l'Eglise. » | Envoyé special du Figaro à Rome | mercredi 27 février 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Tony Blair has told how people are still “very abusive” to him 10 years after the Iraq War, adding that he has given up trying to “persuade people it was the right decision”.
In comments which could be interpreted as self-pitying Mr Blair said that it did not matter whether the continuing controversy about Iraq had “taken a toll on me”.
He said that Iraq’s Saddam Hussein was “20 times as bad” as Syria’s President Assad but admitted that it would take a “generation” to make Iraq safer than it was in 2003.
Mr Blair is still cr[i]ticised for sending British troops into Iraq on March 20, 2003 in the mistaken belief that its Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
In the weeks leading up to the invasion, more than one million people marched through London against the Iraq invasion.
Asked in a candid interview on BBC2’s Newsnight whether he minded if “people call you a liar, some people call you a war criminal, protesters follow you; it’s difficult to walk down the street in a country”, he replied: “It really doesn’t matter whether it’s taken its toll on me.
“The fact is yes there are people who will be very abusive, by the way I do walk down the street and by the way I won an election in 2005 after Iraq. However, yes it remains extremely divisive and very difficult.”
Mr Blair conceded that he had “long since given up trying to persuade people it was the right decision”. » | Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent | Tuesday, February 26, 2013
BBC: A Welsh woman who married into one of Germany's most prominent musical families nearly became Adolf Hitler's wife, a BBC Wales programme has revealed.
Winifred Williams, the daughter of a journalist from Brecon and his German wife, was adopted by relatives of her mother after being orphaned and went to live in Germany in 1908.
By 17, she was married to composer Richard Wagner's homosexual son Siegfried and met one of Wagner's greatest fans - future Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
They grew so close that it was actually Winifred who provided the paper on which Hitler wrote his infamous tract, Mein Kampf, while in jail in the early 1920s.
Following her husband's death in 1930, Hitler and Winifred's friendship intensified and he was described as being like a second father to her four children.
At the time, there was even talk of them getting married. » | Tuesday, February 03, 2004
BBC: Smoking should be banned in cars carrying children, says England's public health minister.
Anna Soubry said her personal view was that it was justified on "child welfare" grounds.
Several health groups have called for the move, but it has been resisted so far by the government.
The prime minister has said while he supports the smoking ban in pubs and clubs, he is "more nervous" about legislating what happens in cars.
At the Local Government Association's annual public health conference, Ms Soubry said: "I would ban smoking in cars where children are present.
"I would do that for the protection of children. I believe in protecting children. I would see it as a child welfare issue. » | Nick Triggle | Health Correspondent | BBC News | Tuesday, February 26, 2013
BBC: Pope Benedict will be known as "pope emeritus" and will retain the honorific "His Holiness" after he abdicates on Thursday, Vatican officials say.
He will also continue to be known by his papal title of Benedict XVI, rather than reverting to Josef Ratzinger.
He will wear his distinctive white cassock without any cape or trimmings.
He will surrender his gold ring of office, known as the fisherman's ring, and his personal seal will be destroyed as tradition dictates.
He will also give up wearing his specially-made red leather loafers, instead wearing brown shoes hand made for him by a Mexican craftsman during a brief visit to Mexico last year.
Benedict XVI's resignation is the first by a pope for some 600 years. » | Tuesday, February 26, 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Janet Jackson weiß offenbar bestens, wie man ein Geheimnis hütet: Die US-Sängerin ließ jetzt verlauten, dass sie bereits seit vergangenem Jahr verheiratet ist - mit einem aus Katar stammenden Milliardär.
New York - Janet Jackson hat sich mal wieder getraut: Der US-Popstar ist bereits seit vergangenem Jahr verheiratet, ohne dass dies bis jetzt öffentlich bekannt war. Ihr Management bestätigte nun die Trauung mit dem Geschäftsmann Wissam Al Mana, 37. Es sei eine "ruhige, private und wunderschöne Feier" gewesen, hieß es in einer gemeinsamen Erklärung des Paares. "Wir würden es begrüßen, wenn unsere Privatsphäre respektiert werden würde und wir diese Zeit der Freude genießen könnten." » | wit/AP/dpa | Dienstag, 26. Februar 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Related »
RT.COM: The Russian language needs legal protection from the “conquering march” of foreign words, sponsors of a bill before the State Duma believe. It seeks to ban all words borrowed from other languages and fine those who dare to use them in public.
The bill submitted by members of the Liberal Democrat party goes even further, administering punishment for any “violation of the norms of the contemporary Russian language.”
According to the justification for the proposed legislation submitted by the lawmakers, their vocabulary condemnation targets words that came into Russian from English after the late 1980s and the collapse of the Soviet Union. They specifically mention the Russian words that ended up as ‘dealer’, ‘boutique’, ‘manager’, ‘single’, ‘OK’ and ‘wow’. The legislators suggest Russians use – sometimes archaic – substitutions or face a penalty. Ordinary linguistic offenders would have to pay up to an $80 fine, while organizations would have to fork out as much as $1,650. The latter are even threatened with “confiscation of the object of the administrative violation,” whatever that means.
The document apparently aims to snap freeze Russian. As with any other tongue, it undergoes natural evolution, with some words becoming archaic and phasing out of use and others being born and gaining popularity. » | Thursday, February 21, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Vladimir Putin has signed a law banning smoking in public places in Russia from June, a cornerstone of the government's bid to improve public health in the nicotine-addicted country.
The law makes smoking illegal in restaurants, cafés, hotels, trains and a host of other places and will take effect in two stages.
From June 1, 2013, it will be illegal to smoke in Russia on municipal transport, at railway stations, in lifts and bus stations, administrative buildings as well as any place of education or health.
From June 2014, the ban will be stepped up to include ships, long distance trains, train platforms, hotels, cafés and restaurants in what will mean a major lifestyle change for many Russians. » | Source: AFP | Monday, February 25, 2013
3AW 693: The organiser of last week's protest against anti-Islamic Dutch MP Geert Wilders has been accused of hypocrisy, selectivity and astonishing double-standards by 3AW Drive Presenter Tom Elliott.
After blockading and shoving spectators at Mr Wilders' speech in Somerton, self-professed anti-capitalist Louise O'Shea and fellow protesters have decided not to target the Islamic Peace Conference next month in Melbourne, despite the conference hosting a number of radical Imams who publicly condemn Jews, advocate jihadist terrorism and encourage female genital mutilation and polygamy.
One Imam invited to the conference, Dr Abdul Rahman al-Sudais, had this to say about Jewish people: » | Ned Franklin | Monday, February 25, 2013
SCOTSMAN: Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in Britain stepped down today amid allegations of his “inappropriate behaviour” with three priests and one former priest.
The decision to bring forward the 74-year-old cardinal’s resignation by three weeks was made personally by the pope.
In a statement this morning he said: “The Holy Father has now decided that my resignation will take effect today.”
“I thank Pope Benedict XVI for his kindness and courtesy to me and on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Scotland, I wish him a long and happy retirement. I also ask God’s blessing on my brother Cardinals who will soon gather in Rome to elect his successor.”
“I will not join them for this conclave in person. I do not wish media attention in Rome to be focused on me - but rather on Pope Benedict XVI and on his successor. However, I will pray with them and for them that, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, they will make the correct choice for the future good of the Church.” He added: “I have valued the opportunity of serving the people of Scotland and overseas in various ways since becoming a priest.” » | Monday, February 25, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Cardinal Keith O'Brien resignation: statement issued by Scottish Catholic Media Office: The Pope has accepted Cardinal Keith O’Brien's resignation as he fights allegations of “inappropriate” behaviour with priests. Read the statement issued by the Scottish Catholic Media Office here. » | Telegraph reporters | Monday, February 25, 2013
Related »
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Cardinal Keith O’Brien has resigned as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh amid allegations of “inappropriate” behaviour with priests.
The 74-year-old, who was due to retire, has denied he allegations but is stepping aside amid the controversy. » | John Bingham and Simon Johnson | Monday, February 25, 2013
Related »
Sunday, February 24, 2013
The man interviewing Geert Wilders here is very badly-informed. He has NO or LITTLE understanding of the true nature of Islam. This is sad, but very typical of those employed by the MSM. – © Mark
HERALD SUN: IF Geert Wilders is wrong, let his critics explain next month's "Islamic Peace Conference" at the Melbourne Showgrounds.
I've checked what huge billboards around Melbourne claim is the "largest ever Islamic Conference in the history of Australia", at which 20,000 people are expected.
I've checked what the "chief guest" - Sheikh Abdur-Rahman Al-Sudais, imam of Mecca's Grand Mosque - has said of Jews: "The scum of the human race, the rats of the world, . . . the offspring of apes and pigs" whom God should "terminate".
I've checked what other invited speakers have said about killing gays, beating women to make them "shape up", executing apostates and supporting terrorists.
And the evidence is damning: Wilders' critics owe him an apology for having been so blind. So cowardly.
Wilders is the eloquent leader of Holland's third-largest political party and last week tried to conduct a speaking tour of Australia to argue Islam is incompatible with Western values and freedoms.
Wilders might know. For nine years, he has had to live under constant police guard after criticising Islam.
Islamists have been jailed after plotting his death. Another Islamist used a knife to pin a note to the body of slaughtered film director Theo van Gogh, warning Wilders would be next.
Yes, most Muslims are moderate, Wilders agrees, but their "violent Islamic ideology" is not and commands followers not to be, either.
If so, mass immigration to the West of followers of such an ideology is a danger. » | Andrew Bolt | Sunday, February 25, 2013
ANDREW BOLT'S BLOG: Wilders’ cowardly critics must explain this conference »
The Australians should feel thoroughly ashamed of themselves for the shabby way they treated Geert Wilders last week. The protesters behaved liked morons, and the politicians behaved as if they had no balls. Never mind, the cowards can look forward to the Islamic Conference soon to be held there. Then they can welcome the real peace-lovers! – © Mark
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The pontifical coats of arms are being buffed up with polish, a vineyard has been newly planted and the helipad has been swept.
Even the Papal herd of cows, prized for their milk and yoghurt, are contentedly munching on bales of hay.
All that staff at Castel Gandolfo now await is the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI, who will fly to the castle on Thursday evening after he formally steps down as head of the Catholic Church.
The ageing, ailing Pontiff will spend the next two months here, using the magnificent palazzo as a place of prayer and spiritual retreat where he will map out his plans for his final days and reflect on his historic decision to resign.
It is certainly a place well suited to peaceful contemplation. Located an hour’s drive - or ten minutes’ helicopter ride - south of Rome, it is perched on the edge of a volcanic crater that plunges down to a lake fringed with woodland and olive groves.
Within the estate’s extensive grounds are formal gardens, giant holm oaks, fountains, fish ponds and the ruins of a villa built by Diocletian, the Roman emperor. » | Nick Squires, Castel Gandolfo | Saturday, February 23, 2013
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Pope Benedict XVI told tens of thousands of pilgrims in St Peter's Square in a voice breaking with emotion that he was resigning because God had called on him to devote himself to prayer
Pope Benedict XVI has given his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square.
Benedict says even though he's retiring on Thursday from the papacy, the first pope in 600 years to do so, he's "not abandoning the church."
In a voice breaking with emotion that he was resigning because God had called on him to devote himself to prayer but said he would not foresake [sic] a Church role.
Instead he says he'll serve the church with the same dedication he has till now, but will do so in a way "more suitable to my age and my strength."
Benedict, 85, will spend his last years in prayer, meditation and seclusion in a monastery on Vatican City's grounds. » | Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Sunday, February 24, 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Die Kanzlerin ist skeptisch - doch Außenminister Guido Westerwelle drängt auf Tempo bei den Verhandlungen über einen EU-Beitritt der Türkei. Auch Frankreich will neue Gespräche.
Hamburg - Außenminister Guido Westerwelle (FDP) hat mehr Tempo bei den Verhandlungen über einen EU-Beitritt der Türkei gefordert. "Wenn wir nicht achtgeben, wird die Stunde kommen, in der Europa mehr Interesse an der Türkei, als die Türkei Interesse an Europa haben wird", sagte Westerwelle der "Passauer Neuen Presse".
Es müsse wieder "neue Bewegung" in den Prozess um die Gespräche über einen Beitritt kommen und mit dem Land müsse "fair und respektvoll" umgegangen werden. Der Außenminister sprach sich vor allem dafür aus, rasch neue Kapitel in dem Beitrittsprozess zu eröffnen. Er arbeite bereits mit einigen seiner europäischen Amtskollegen daran, dass "noch im ersten Halbjahr eine Öffnung von bisher blockierten Kapiteln" erfolgen könne, sagte Westerwelle der Zeitung. » | ore/AFP/Reuters | Samstag, 23. Februar 2013
THE OBSERVER: Three priests and former priest report Cardinal Keith O'Brien to Vatican over claims stretching back 33 years
Three priests and a former priest in Scotland have reported the most senior Catholic clergyman in Britain, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, to the Vatican over allegations of inappropriate behaviour stretching back 30 years.
The four, from the diocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh, have complained to nuncio Antonio Mennini, the Vatican's ambassador to Britain, and demanded O'Brien's immediate resignation. A spokesman for the cardinal said that the claims were contested.
O'Brien, who is due to retire next month, has been an outspoken opponent of gay rights, condemning homosexuality as immoral, opposing gay adoption, and most recently arguing that same-sex marriages would be "harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of those involved". Last year he was named "bigot of the year" by the gay rights charity Stonewall.
One of the complainants, it is understood, alleges that the cardinal developed an inappropriate relationship with him, resulting in a need for long-term psychological counselling.
The four submitted statements containing their claims to the nuncio's office the week before Pope Benedict's resignation on 11 February. They fear that, if O'Brien travels to the forthcoming papal conclave to elect a new pope, the church will not fully address their complaints. » | Catherine Deveney | Saturday, February 22, 2013
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Until 9/11, the western world was largely ignorant of the religion of Islam, of its goals, of its aspirations. Indeed, even since 9/11, most people, and that includes our politicians, would not score very highly in a test of their knowledge on the subject. It should be obvious to all thinking people that our politicians are actually unaware, dare I say blind, to the dangers that Islam will increasingly cause us. It is truly a case of the blind leading the blind! That means to say, uninformed and unthinking politicians leading an ill-informed electorate. But this is what we have right now. The same can hardly be said of Muslims in the Islamic world, though; for their knowledge of Christianity far surpasses - even though much of their knowledge is quite distorted - any knowledge of Islam by the man in the street in the West. Read more »
LE NOUVELLISTE: L'acteur français Gérard Depardieu, qui a récemment acquis la nationalité russe après une polémique sur ses impôts en France, a rejoint samedi la région russe de Mordovie. Il y a été enregistré officiellement comme habitant rue de la Démocratie à Saransk.
De retour en Russie depuis jeudi, l'acteur s'est envolé samedi matin de Moscou pour la capitale de la Mordovie, une région à environ 650km à l'est de Moscou surtout connue dans le pays pour ses camps de détention.
Peu après son arrivée à Saransk, M. Depardieu, suivi par une vingtaine de journalistes russes, s'en est pris à deux journalistes français sur place qu'il avait reconnus, leur demandant agressivement de quitter les lieux et d'effacer leurs enregistrements vidéos. Ils ont été empêchés de le suivre pour le reste de la journée. » | Source: ATS | samedi 23 février 2013
THE GUARDIAN: Chancellor says he 'cannot let up' after move by Moody's which opposite number Ed Balls calls 'humiliating'
The chancellor has insisted that he will not change course despite the downgrade of Britain's credit rating in which he invested great political capital in maintaining.
George Osborne said Britain's situation would get very much worse if the government changed course after Moody's changed Britain's rating from AAA to AA1. The chancellor said previously the rating agency's triple-A rating was an endorsement of his austerity policies.
As far back as February 2010, he told an audience of Tory activists: "What investor is going to come to the UK when they fear a downgrade of our credit rating and a collapse of confidence?" In the Tory manifesto, published weeks later, he said: "We will safeguard Britain's credit rating with a credible plan to eliminate the bulk of the structural deficit over a parliament."
Ed Balls ,the shadow chancellor, described the downgrade as a "humiliating blow" for Osborne who was "ploughing on regardless with a plan which is not working".
In an interview at 11 Downing Street on Saturday, Osborne said: "I think we've got a very clear message, a loud and clear message that Britain cannot let up in dealing with its debts, dealing with its problems, cannot let up in making sure that Britain can pay its way in the world.
"What is the message from the ratings agency? Britain's got a debt problem. I agree with that. I've been telling the country for years that we've got a debt problem, we've got to deal with it."
Labour insisted the government had withdrawn demand from the economy which had slowed growth and increased the debt. » | Conal Urquhart, staff and agencies | Saturday, February 23, 2013
DEUTSCHE WELLE: President Joachim Gauck has used a nationally televised speech to call for greater cooperation among the European Union’s member states. The speech comes a year after Gauck took office as Germany’s head of state.
Speaking in front of 200 invited guests at his official residence, the Schloss Bellevue palace in Berlin, President Gauck called for what he described as “more Europe,” while at the same time addressing some of the fears of ordinary EU citizens, including those regarding the eurozone's sovereign debt crisis.
The president conceded that a "structural flaw led to an imbalance in the European Union which was only patched up by emergency measures, such as the European Stability Mechanism and the fiscal compact."
He also condeded that most of what the EU's 500 million citizens have read or heard about the 27-member bloc over the past few years has tended to be about the eurozone crisis.
However, he also noted that there were many more elements to the crisis than just the economic dimension.
"It is also a crisis of confidence in Europe as a political project. This is not just a struggle for our currency; we are struggling with an internal quandary too." » | Chuck Penfold | Friday, February 22, 2013
NEUE LUZERNER ZEITUNG: Die Regierung von US-Präsident Barack Obama hat einen weiteren Schritt auf dem Weg zur Zulassung der Homoehe gemacht. Die Regierung bat den Obersten Gerichtshof der USA am Freitag offiziell, das gesetzliche Verbot der Ehe Homosexueller für ungültig zu erklären.
Washington. Das Gesetz zur Verteidigung der Ehe (DOMA) aus dem Jahr 1996 verstosse gegen die grundlegende in der Verfassung garantierte Gleichheit vor dem Gesetz, heisst es in der Eingabe der Regierung beim Gerichtshof.
DOMA verweigere zehntausenden gleichgeschlechtlichen Paaren, die nach dem Recht einzelner US-Bundesstaaten legal verheiratet sind, eine Reihe von Vorteilen, die auf Bundesebene für legal verheiratete gemischtgeschlechtliche Paaren gelten, argumentiert die Regierung.
Das Gesetz schreibt die Ehe als Verbindung zwischen einem Mann und einer Frau fest und gewährt nur verheirateten heterosexuellen Paaren Vorteile in Bereichen wie Steuern, Erbschaft oder Krankenversicherung. » | sda/afp | Samstag, 23. Februar 2013
Friday, February 22, 2013
LE POINT: Le numéro deux de l'ambassade de la République islamique d'Iran à Oslo a fait défection en décembre, en raison de désaccords avec l'ambassadeur.
C'est le quatrième diplomate iranien à faire défection depuis juin 2009, début de la sanglante répression menée par Téhéran contre les opposants à la réélection de Mahmoud Ahmadinejad à la présidence. Le quotidien norvégien Dagbladet révèle ce vendredi qu'un nouveau diplomate iranien a demandé l'asile à la Norvège. "Il souhaite conserver l'anonymat par considération pour sa famille et pour lui-même", explique au quotidien norvégien son avocat, Jørgen Løvdal. "Il ne veut pas s'exprimer sur les raisons de sa demande d'asile, ainsi que sur les circonstances qui l'entourent", précise l'avocat.
D'après Dagbladet, le diplomate iranien, qui travaillait dans l'ambassade d'Oslo depuis plusieurs années, a fait défection en décembre. Il vivrait depuis reclus avec sa famille dans un lieu tenu secret. L'ambassade de la République islamique d'Iran à Oslo a déjà été le théâtre de pareils incidents. En janvier 2010, Mohammad Reza Heydari, consul général de l'ambassade à Oslo, avait déjà décidé de démissionner de son poste et de demander l'asile à la Norvège. À l'époque, le diplomate avait expliqué avoir agi en protestation aux "assassinats" d'opposant iraniens. » | Par Armin Arefi | vendredi 22 février 2013
THE GUARDIAN: King Juan Carlos's daughter likely to be formally named as a suspect in multimillion-euro scandal ahead of possible indictment
As a financial scandal engulfs the royal family and politicians begin to call for his abdication, Spain's King Juan Carlos faces one of the worst weeks in his 37-year reign, with prosecutors set to ask a judge to formally name his daughter Princess Cristina as a suspect in a multimillion-euro fraud and money-laundering case.
The request, which would be a preliminary step to a possible indictment, is poised to be made next week and will be based on the testimony of Diego Torres, a former business school lecturer who became the partner of Cristina's husband, Iñaki Urdangarin.
Juan Carlos's nightmare week starts in Palma de Mallorca , when Urdangarin must appear before an investigating magistrate who has demanded that he and Torres post a joint bond of €8.1m (£7m).
The size of the bond points to the millions of euros that – via a foundation in which the princess served as a board member – the two men allegedly obtained from fraudulent deals with politicians keen to bathe in the reflected glory of royalty. Part of the money was allegedly then laundered through offshore accounts.
"If the princess sits in the dock, the blow to the monarchy's prestige will be huge," said Miguel Bernad, head of the controversial far-right Clean Hands movement that has sent a prosecutor to join the case and who will ask investigating magistrate José Castro to formally name the king's daughter as a suspect. » | Giles Tremlett in Madrid | Friday, February 22, 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE: "Auf Knien" werde ein Kanzler einst nach Ankara robben, um die Türkei zur EU-Mitgliedschaft zu bewegen, sagt der Brüsseler Kommissar Günther Oettinger. Die Türken freut's, Berlin ist verstimmt. Zwei Tage vor Angela Merkels Besuch drängt Ankara Deutschland zu Zugeständnissen auf dem Weg nach Europa.
Diese Vorlage ließ sich die türkische Presse nicht entgehen. Am Donnerstag prangt der deutsche EU-Kommissar Günther Oettinger auf fast allen Titelseiten. "Auf Knien", so hatte Angela Merkels Parteifreund gewettet, werde im kommenden Jahrzehnt "ein deutscher Kanzler oder Kanzlerin mit dem Kollegen aus Paris nach Ankara robben, um die Türkei zu bitten, Freunde kommt zu uns".
Eine solche Demutsgeste käme natürlich an in der stolzen Türkei, die sich seit Jahrzehnten hingehalten fühlt, wenn es um eine Beitrittsperspektive in die Europäische Union geht. Kein Wunder also, dass Oettinger nun genüsslich gelobt wird für seine Prognose, die in Europa für Irritationen sorgte. Er wisse zwar nicht, ob die Europäer eines Tages "gekrochen kommen werden, oder ob sie auf die Knie sinken", um die Türkei um einen EU-Beitritt zu bitten, sagt der türkische EU-Minister Egemen Bagis. "Aber wenn es eine Sache gibt, die ich sicher weiß, ist es, dass sie ganz bestimmt nachgeben werden", sagte Bagis über die Europäische Union. » | Von Jürgen Gottschlich, Istanbul | Donnerstag, 21. Februar 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: 'They Will Give In': Turkey Pressures Germany on EU Accession – A European commissioner's remark that Germany and France would one day come crawling "on their knees" begging Turkey to join the EU has miffed Berlin and thrilled Ankara. As German Chancellor Merkel prepares for a visit to Turkey, the country is pushing for concessions. » | By Jürgen Gottschlich in Istanbul | -- with wire reports | Thursday, February 21, 2013
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