Pope's 'Revenge' as LA Gets Opus Dei Bishop
THE TELEGRAPH: A member of the radically-orthodox Catholic group Opus Dei has been appointed as the new Archbishop of Los Angeles.

Archbishop Jose Gomez of San Antonio takes questions from the media at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Photograph: The Telegraph
Jose Gomez has been parachuted into the archdiocese of five million to try to lure the increasingly lapsing faithful of southern California back to Church.

The appointment was described as the Pope's revenge on Hollywood for filming The Da Vinci Code.

Benedict XVI's choice comes after Colombia Pictures depicted Opus Dei as a secret society of murderous monks who, according to author Dan Brown, were trying to cover up the truth of Jesus's secret affair with Mary Magdelene.

The appointment will give Opus Dei enormous influence in the American Church and Vatican, and is the most senior appointment for a member of the group.

It will also lead to Mexican-born Gomez, formerly the Archbishop of San Antonio, Texas, becoming the first Latin American US cardinal, a position that will give him influence in Rome and the right to vote at a papal conclave.

The choice is likely to dismay the Catholics of Hollywood, which falls within the archdiocese. The reigning archbishop, Cardinal Roger Mahony, avoided confrontation, but Archbishop Gomez is less likely to duck controversy.

Opus Dei, which he joined in 1978, is seen as one of the most devout of all the Catholic groups. Some of its priests practise self-flagellation while praying to the Virgin Mary and also wear a cilice – a spiked garter – to help them to mortify the flesh and avoid sexual sins.

One of Archbishop Gomez's primary tasks will be to deal with the fallout from the abuse crisis.

None of the 2,000 priests of Opus Dei, which has the status of a "personal prelature" of the Pope, has ever been embroiled in a sexual scandal.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, however, is one of the worst afflicted by the clerical sexual abuse crisis that has convulsed the US Church since 2002. >>> Simon Caldwell | Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Gomez Holds Both Conservative and Progressive Views
LOS ANGELES TIMES: The archbishop is a champion of immigrants yet embraces strict orthodoxy on such matters as abortion and gay marriage.

Reporting from San Antonio and Los Angeles
When Archbishop Jose Gomez introduced himself to the faithful Tuesday morning, he described Los Angeles as "the global face of the Catholic Church." He might as well have been talking about himself.

Gomez, 58, who will succeed Cardinal Roger Mahony, is a reflection of the future of American Catholicism. Born in northern Mexico, now an American citizen, he is one of the millions of Latinos who will make up the majority of Catholics in the United States within the next 10 years.

And like many of those Latinos, he is at once a conservative and a progressive: unyielding in his opposition to abortion and gay marriage, passionate in his advocacy for immigrants and the poor, confounding to those who try to wedge him into the traditional right-left political paradigm.

During his six-year tenure atop the San Antonio archdiocese, Gomez emerged as a leading advocate for doctrinal conformity, determined to stave off what he saw as creeping secularism in the church.

He denounced one Catholic university when it invited then-Sen. Hillary Clinton to campus, because she favored abortion rights, and another when it invited a Benedictine nun, because she had advocated the ordination of women. Under his reign, a local Catholic high school ended its relationship with an organization that raised money to fight breast cancer, because the same organization gave grants to Planned Parenthood. After a 17-year-old lay advisory commission created by his predecessor suggested that gay marriage might be a human rights issue under one reading of the church's teachings, Gomez disbanded the commission.

"The doors were closed for collaborative communication," Mary Moreno, one commission member, said in an interview Tuesday. "We just got a letter. And when things are done like that, it kind of leaves a sting." >>> Scott Gold and, Jessica Garrison and Louis Sahagun | Wednesday, April 07, 2010

LOS ANGELES TIMES: Opus Dei seeks to make everyday life holier: Members attend daily Mass and set aside prayer time. Not all engage in corporal mortification, and those who do say it's nothing like in 'The Da Vinci Code.' >>> Carla Hall | Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels >>>

General Election 2010: A Battle Between Hope and Fear
THE TELEGRAPH: The general election campaign will be a “battle of hope and fear” as the Tories call for change and Labour warns against risking the recovery.

David Cameron, left, and Gordon Brown Photographs: The Telegraph
As Gordon Brown formally announced the dissolution of parliament, the Prime Minister claimed that the Conservatives could not be trusted with the economy *.

However, David Cameron said the public had a choice between a “fresh start” under his leadership, offering the country a vision of “hope and optimism” rather than five more years under Mr Brown. >>> Andrew Porter, Political Editor | Tuesday, April 06, 2010

*This is a bit rich coming from Gordo, isn’t it? If anyone has had enough time to do something good for the economy, he has. And look at the cock-up he’s made of it! He couldn’t have made a bigger cock-up if he had tried! The state of the economy speaks for itself. And what about all that gold you sold off at rock-bottom prices, Gordo? That cost the public nearly £5bn! You’re a clown, Gordo, a buffoon, and you know it. Step aside! Make room for someone else! Someone else, hopefully shrewder, more astute. You’ve had your chance, and you've blown it. By the way, they might appreciate you more north of the border. Socialism, they tell me, is more appreciated in Scotland than it is south of the border. Run away and play with that economy, and leave us to lick our wounds! – © Mark

Saudi Scholar Intends to Visit Jerusalem
ARAB NEWS: JEDDAH: A Saudi Islamic scholar announced Monday on a satellite channel his intention to visit Jerusalem next week in order to produce the next episode of his television program from the holy city.

If Sheikh Muhammad Al-Areefi goes ahead with his plan, it would be an unprecedented trip by a prominent Saudi. Jerusalem is the third holiest site in Islam, but most Muslim countries observe a strict boycott of Israel and ban travel there.

Al-Areefi told his viewers Sunday on the Islamic satellite channel Iqra that the next episode of his show would be about Jerusalem and Palestine. Al-Areefi said he would visit the city next week, though he did not specify when and whether he had obtained a visa.

He said he was not afraid of any "treachery from the Jews," as he had put his trust in God. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said while he was not familiar with the case, Al-Areefi could apply for a visa from the consulate in Amman. >>> Arab News | Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Iraqi Women Turn to Cosmetic Surgery

Deadly Blasts Rock Baghdad

Obama’s Gift to Radicals
YNET NEWS: Given US president’s policy, it doesn’t pay to be moderate these days

The American president’s tough approach towards Israel and the turning of Jerusalem into a public bone of contention constitute an unexpected gift to the Middle East’s radical regimes. It doesn’t pay to be moderate these days. If the US president is so radical towards Israel, how could the Arabs afford to be more moderate than him?

There was always construction in east Jerusalem, yet the Arab world did not turn it into a major slogan, yet it’s happening at this time because of Obama, among other reasons. The US president also prompted Palestinian positions to get tougher in a hurry. After all, they cannot demand less than he does.

If during the Bush Administration, the Palestinians engaged in negotiations with Israel without addressing the settlements at all, while their construction continued, during Obama’s era they have demanded a freeze, then a full freeze, including Jerusalem, and now they want a complete stop.

This is turning from Palestinian-Israeli negotiations into American coercion vis-à-vis Israel, and the Palestinian demands in respect to borders and refugees will only grow now.

Without noticing it, Obama also internationalized the conflict again and brought in all the Mideast’s troublemakers as partners: The Arab League headed by the radical Amr Moussa, the Arab states’ monitoring committee, and in fact all Arab regimes, with all their animosities and disagreements.

Arab League Secretary General Moussa, a blatant Israel-hater, is now in charge of approving or rejecting Mahmoud Abbas’ moves. The Arab League is now a super-negotiator, against Israel, thereby being granted a veto power. Did Moussa speak of the Iranian nuclear threat in the recent summit meeting in Libya? The opposite was true: He recommended dialogue with Tehran, while warning of Israel’s nuclear threat. Outdated, false doctrine >>> Guy Bechor | Sunday, April 04, 2010

Attack on Christianity! Devon Nurse Loses Crucifix 'Ban' Claim at Tribunal
BBC: A Christian nurse moved to a desk job after refusing to remove her crucifix at work has lost a discrimination claim against her employers. >>> | Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Post-Christian Britain Interprets Laws In Favour of Islam and Against Christianity: Show you’re a Muslimah by wearing a hijab – okay; show you’re a Christian by wearing a crucifix – no way! >>>

Die Kinder-Ehe spaltet die türkische Gesellschaft
WELT ONLINE: Mehr als ein Drittel aller Ehen in der Türkei sind Kinder-Ehen. Westlich orientierte Türken schäumen über die Unsitte, reichen, alten Männern junge Mädchen zur Frau zu geben. Es ist eine schwierige Debatte in einem Land, in dem Staatspräsident Gül seine Frau Hayrünissa zwei Tage nach deren 15. Geburtstag heiratete.

Der türkische Ministerpräsident Abdullah Gül heiratete seine Frau als sie 15 Jahre jung war. Bild: Welt Online
Am Sonntag versuchte eine junge Frau namens Nazlican Toprak, sich das Leben zu nehmen. Im Istanbuler Nobel-Stadtteil Istinye nahm sie die Schlaftabletten ihres Mannes und schluckte sie alle. Er merkte es, ließ sie rechtzeitig ins Krankenhaus bringen, sie überlebte. Sie sei deprimiert gewesen, sagt sie als es ihr wieder besser ging. Die Geschichte klingt nach einer traurigen, aber alltäglichen Sache – Depression, Todeswunsch, glücklicherweise ein glimpfliches Ende.

Ein Detail hat diesen Fall jedoch zu einem Skandal gemacht, der die Türkei erschüttert. Der Gatte, Halis Toprak, ist ein berühmter Geschäftsmann. Er ist 71 Jahre alt und hat ein Dutzend Kinder. Die meisten von ihnen sind älter als seine junge Frau. Denn Nazlican ist 17 Jahre jung. Es ist ein Altersunterschied von 54 Jahren. Sie hatten erst vergangenen Sommer geheiratet. Ihre Familie ist arm. Er hatte versprochen, ihnen finanziell zu helfen. >>> Von Boris Kálnoky | Dienstag, 06. April 2010

Sarkozy Blames 'Anglo-Saxon Financiers' For Spreading Rumours About His Marriage As Dati Protests Her Innocence
MAIL ONLINE: French president Nicolas Sarkozy has accused British financiers of being part of a 'plot' to destabilise his country's economy by spreading rumours his marriage was in crisis.

The furious president is is said to believe that 'Anglo-Saxon financiers' may have started rumours that he and wife Carla Bruni were both having affairs.

The comments from his spokesman came as former justice minister Rachida Dati formally denied that she was behind the rumours.

In the latest dramatic twist to the Elysee Palace soap opera, the 44-year-old single mother ‘denied vehemently’ having said that the President and his wife were both having affairs.

Her comments came as a criminal inquiry was launched into the scandal, with those found guilty facing prison.

The president's spokesman Pierre Charon has ordered a 'campaign of terror' against those who started the rumours, which first appeared on Twitter then in newspapers across Europe.

The Elyseé Palace seems persuaded that the rumours originated in the Anglo-Saxon dominated financial markets as part of a conspiracy to initiate speculation against French debt.

'We shall find out if there has now been some kind of organised plot involving financial movements,' Mr Charon said in an interview with internet newspaper Rue 89.

'The fact that these rumours were spread in the newspapers in Britain, Germany and Switzerland makes us think of a conspiracy while France is preparing to take over the presidency of the G20 in 2011,' he said.

France's first couple were at the centre of media frenzy last month after false rumours erupted that Ms Bruni was having an affair with pop star Benjamin Biolay, six years her junior.

Mr Sarkozy was said to have sought comfort in the arms his attractive ecology minister Chantal Jouanno, a claim she has denied.

Those responsible for starting the rumours will be 'hunted down and punbished'[sic] and a criminal investigation had been launched by police and intelligence agencies, Mr Charon said.

He added: 'We are going to war on these ignominious reports. We want to take things as far as we can to make sure this will never happen again. We want those who tried to spread fear to feel fear themselves.'

France's left-wing Liberation [sic] newspaper described the language used as 'paranoid'.

French daily Sud-Ouest wrote: 'Can't Mr sarkozy see that it is precisely this kind of threatening language that makes people want to target him in the first place.'

And reporters at the Journal du Dimanche - which repeated the rumours in a blog on the paper's website - protested what they called the 'unprecedented bullying and inquisitorial' attitude of the Elysie. >>> Mail Foreign Service | Tuesday, April 06, 2010

LE POINT: Rumeurs sur la vie privée du couple présidentiel : RÉACTION - Me Herzog, avocat de Sarkozy : "Je ne peux pas exclure que ce soit une machination" >>> Par Cyriel Martin | Mardi 06 Avril 2010

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Rumeurs sur les Sarkozy: "Rachida Dati n'est pas impliquée" : FRANCE | Le rôle prêté à Rachida Dati dans la propagation de rumeurs autour de la vie privée du couple présidentiel est "impensable" et susceptible de relever de la diffamation, a déclaré l'avocat de l'ex-garde des Sceaux, Me Georges Kiejman. >>> AFP | Mardi 06 Avril 2010

25 Miners Dead After Explosion in West Virginia

Election Fever Not Helping The Pound

Greece: Deputy Prime Minister Accuses Germany of ‘Racial Prejudice’
MAIL ONLINE: Greece accused Germany yesterday of taking a racial approach to its financial crisis.

The claim came from deputy prime minister Theodoros Pangalos, who earlier this year accused Germany of not compensating Greece properly for its suffering during the Second World War Nazi occupation.

In a newspaper interview he said the Berlin government was more concerned in pleasing its own people - vehemently opposed to paying for a Greek bailout - than showing solidarity with a euro nation under pressure.

Mr Pangalos said Germany had taken a 'moral, racial' approach to the crisis, adding sarcastically: 'The Greeks have problems. Why do they have problems? Because they don't work enough.

'And why is that? Because they have a good climate, music and drink and they are not as serious as the Germans.' Germany won't bail us out due to 'racial prejudice' that we don't work hard, says Greek deputy PM in new outburst to fuel row >>> Mail Foreign Service | Tuesday, April 06, 2010

FIFA Dress Code Bars Iran Girls From Youth Games
ASSOCIATED PRESS: ZURICH — Iran's girls' soccer team was thrown out of the Youth Olympics because FIFA rules prevent players from wearing an Islamic headscarf.

Thailand replaces Iran in the August tournament, the governing body of Asian soccer said on its Web site Monday.

The hijab scarf — worn by girls and women to observe Islamic dress code — was not allowed under FIFA rules relating to on-field equipment, the Asian Football Confederation said. Iran's national Olympic committee had urged soccer's international ruling body and the International Olympic Committee to review the ban.

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke rejected the Iranian Olympic panel's request in a letter to the national soccer federation. He said the FIFA executive committee had "no choice but to take the decision."

FIFA maintains that soccer's international rulebook contains a section on player equipment, stating that "basic compulsory equipment must not have any political, religious or personal statements." >>> | Easter Monday, April 05, 2010

Iran Demands Fifa Lifts Olympic Games Football Hijab Ban
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran has demanded that Fifa overturn a ban on its girls football team from the Youth Olympic games after the team was kicked out for wearing Islamic scarves that contravene international rules.

Players of Iran's women national football team. Photograph: The Telegraph
Iran's national Olympic committee had called on Fifa, football's world governing body, and the International Olympic Committee to review the ban on the hijab.

The hijab is worn women beyond the age of puberty to observe Islamic rules on modesty and interaction of the sexes.

"We have asked the heads of these international sports organisations to review and annul Fifa's decision," Bahram Afsharzadeh, the Iranian Olympic committee secretary general said. "Hijab is related to the Islamic culture and Muslim women can't take part in social activities without it." >>> Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Tuesday, April 06, 2010

An End to the Worst Thirteen Years in British Politics in Sight! General Election 2010: Gordon Brown and David Cameron Set Stage for May 6 Poll



THE TELEGRAPH: Gordon Brown has called the General Election for May 6 and launched his campaign by calling for a ‘mandate’ to restore the trust between voters and the politicians elected to represent them.

The Prime Minister put the economy at the heart of the campaign by urging the electorate not to risk the recovery by voting for the Conservatives.

Standing in front of his Cabinet, he said: “Britain is on the road to recovery and nothing we do should put that recovery at risk.

"Over the next few weeks I will go round the country - the length and breadth of our land - and I will take to the people a very straightforward and clear message. Britain is on the road to recovery and nothing we do should put that recovery at risk.

"Get the big decisions right - as we did in the last 18 months since the world recession - and jobs, prosperity and better standards of living will result.

"Get the big decisions wrong and the lives of hundreds of thousands of people are diminished as a result."

Disclosing the “worst-kept secret” in politics, Mr Brown confirmed that the General Election would take place on May 6. >>> Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Rumeurs sur la vie privée du couple présidentiel : RÉACTION - Me Herzog, avocat de Sarkozy : "Je ne peux pas exclure que ce soit une machination"
Me Thierry Herzog, l'avocat de Nicolas Sarkozy, laisse entendre que "quelqu'un" pourrait être "derrière" la propagation des rumeurs concernant la vie privée du couple présidentiel. Photo : Le Point
LE POINT: Les rumeurs ont atteint le Château. Deux mois après l'apparition de ragots sur la vie privée du couple présidentiel, c'est l'avocat du président de la République, Me Thierry Herzog, qui a pris la parole pour défendre son client. "Le simple fait que deux rumeurs croisées soient publiées dans le même temps, une concernant Mme Carla Bruni et l'autre concernant le président de la République, (...) permet de penser que ce n'est certainement pas neutre et que quelqu'un est derrière la propagation de ces rumeurs", a déclaré Me Herzog, lundi soir, sur RTL , insistant au passage sur le fait que les liaisons évoquées étaient "totalement infondées". 



Commentant la plainte contre X déposée par la société éditrice du Journal du Dimanche (groupe Lagardère) pour "introduction frauduleuse de données dans un système informatique", après la publication de ces rumeurs sur un blog hébergé par le site jdd.fr, l'avocat du président de la République a déclaré : "Cette plainte a donné lieu à une enquête, cette enquête est actuellement en cours, et elle a pour but de savoir si ceux qui ont fait paraître ces rumeurs sur ces blogs l'ont fait pour eux-mêmes ou étaient instrumentalisés, soit par des officines soit par des particuliers qui auraient souhaité ou qui souhaiteraient déstabiliser la vie du couple Sarkozy." >>> Par Cyriel Martin | Mardi 06 Avril 2010

Vie privée du couple présidentiel : COLÈRE - Rachida Dati : "Je proteste avec indignation"
Rachida Dati serait soupçonnée par l'Élysée d'avoir alimenté et même cautionné certaines rumeurs entourant le couple présidentiel. Photo : Le Point
LE POINT: Au soir du premier tour des régionales, Rachida Dati avait été la première à appeler l'UMP et l'exécutif à un "retour aux fondamentaux". C'est désormais la première à se défendre. Dans un communiqué diffusé dimanche soir, l'ancienne ministre de la Justice "proteste avec indignation contre les allégations de certains organes de presse lui prêtant une quelconque responsabilité dans la propagation de rumeurs absurdes et inadmissibles sur la vie privée du couple présidentiel". "Outre l'exercice de son droit de réponse", Rachida Dati "se réserve le droit d'agir en diffamation contre ceux qui reprendraient cette allégation dénuée de tout fondement et la reliant de surcroît à la suppression naturelle de sa protection policière, présentée comme une sanction", ajoute le communiqué.

La raison de la colère ? Plusieurs articles de presse ont fait état, ces derniers jours, d'une "disgrâce" de Rachida Dati auprès du président Nicolas Sarkozy après la publication mercredi par Le Canard Enchaîné d'une information révélée le 25 mars dernier par Le Point , selon laquelle elle s'est vu retirer après le 1er tour des régionales, le 14 mars, le bénéfice d'une Peugeot 607 et l'escorte de trois policiers restés à sa disposition depuis son départ du gouvernement. Le Journal du Dimanche affirme que l'ancienne porte-parole de la campagne présidentielle de Nicolas Sarkozy "est soupçonnée par l'Élysée d'avoir alimenté et même cautionné certaines rumeurs entourant le couple présidentiel". Le JDD va même plus loin, assurant "qu'une enquête des services de renseignement français (...) ciblerait notamment Rachida Dati dans la diffusion d'informations jugées malveillantes à l'Élysée"... >>> lepoint.fr | Lundi 05 Avril 2010

Portrait : José Luis Zapatero l’énigmatique
José Luis Zapatero. Photo : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Si son étoile a pâli sous les mauvaises nouvelles conjoncturelles, après six années de pouvoir, la personnalité du premier ministre espagnol reste énigmatique pour beaucoup de ses concitoyens

Ses sourcils en accent circonflexe lui conféreraient un air vaguement interdit. Les persifleurs avancent que José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero ressemble à s’y méprendre à Rowan Atkinson, Mr. Bean pour le grand public. En janvier passé, alors que Madrid a hérité de la présidence tournante de l’Union européenne et lancé son site officiel sur Internet, un plaisantin s’est même payé la tête du premier ministre espagnol, 50 ans l’été prochain, en détournant sa photo pour la remplacer par celle du bouffon britannique. Le subterfuge n’a pas duré qu’une poignée de minutes. Mais il illustre cruellement le manque d’estime dont pâtit José Luis Zapatero, deux années après avoir été reconduit à la tête du gouvernement espagnol.

Deux années pendant lesquelles, à disputer l’évidence de la crise qui ébranle l’économie et à tergiverser sur les remèdes nécessaires, le chef du Parti socialiste ouvrier espagnol (PSOE) a miné sa crédibilité et laissé se creuser le fossé entre son équipe et une population prompte à brocarder la classe politique. «Quand la crise a commencé, il était en pleine campagne électorale. Il lui était impossible de l’admettre. Ensuite, il s’est convaincu que l’Espagne avait accumulé tant de ressources qu’elle ferait face. Il a fait preuve d’un optimisme infantile», semonce le philosophe Josep Ramoneda. L’effondrement des rentrées fiscales et l’envolée du chômage ont fini par avoir raison de cet aplomb et provoqué un virage vers l’austérité: ce sont dorénavant 50 milliards d’euros que José Luis Zapatero promet à Bruxelles d’économiser d’ici à 2013, sans toucher, foi de socialiste, aux dépenses sociales. >>> Angélique Mounier-Kuhn | Mardi 06 Avril 2010

Israël refuse tout gel de la construction à Jérusalem
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: PROCHE-ORIENT | Le chef de la diplomatie israélienne, Avigdor Lieberman, a réitéré mardi que son gouvernement est décidé à poursuivre la construction à Jérusalem, y compris dans la partie orientale arabe de la ville conquise et annexée par Israël en juin 1967.

"Nous ne pouvons pas geler la construction à Jérusalem, ni à l'est, ni à l'ouest, ni chez les Arabes, ni chez les Juifs, car c'est notre souveraineté en tant qu'Etat dans notre capitale qui est en jeu", a affirmé à la radio publique M. Lieberman, qui dirige le parti ultra-nationaliste Israël Beiteinou.

"La communauté internationale veut nous ramener aux lignes (frontières) de juin 1967, ce qui ne mettrait pas fin au conflit (avec les Palestiniens), mais le rapprocherait de la région de Tel-Aviv", a-t-il ajouté.

Selon lui, Israël a multiplié les gestes de bonne volonté durant l'année écoulée, "notamment en acceptant le principe d'un Etat palestinien, en gelant pour dix mois la construction (dans les colonies en Cisjordanie) et en levant de nombreux barrages routiers (en Cisjordanie), et c'est au tour des Palestiniens de faire des concessions". >>> AFP | Mardi 06 Avril 2010

Gesundheitskosten steigen auf 3210 Euro pro Kopf
WELT ONLINE: Die Gesundheitsausgaben sind im Jahr 2008 auf 3210 Euro je Bürger gestiegen. Insgesamt kletterten die Kosten auf 263,2 Milliarden Euro. Das sind 10,5 Prozent des Bruttoinlandsprodukts. Überdurchschnittlich stark stiegen die Ausgaben für Prävention und Gesundheitsschutz, etwa Krebsvorsorge und Schutzimpfungen.

Das Statistische Bundesamt hat die Gesundheitsausgaben für 2008 veröffentlicht. Die Kosten stiegen um 130 Euro auf 3210 Euro je Bürger. Insgesamt kletterten die Gesundheitsausgaben um 3,9 Prozent auf 263,2 Milliarden Euro. Das sind 10,5 Prozent des Bruttoinlandsprodukts. >>> dpa/fas | Dienstag, 06. April 2010

Erdogan : «Sarkozy doit venir voir la Turquie d'aujourd'hui»
Recep Tayyip Erdogan : «Ceux qui ont pris la décision d'appliquer les sanctions contre l'Iran ont été les premiers à les violer». Photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: INTERVIEW - Attendu en France mardi et mercredi, le premier ministre turc veut surmonter les désaccords sur l'adhésion de son pays à l'Union européenne et faire entendre sa voix sur la scène internationale.

Attendu mardi soir à Versailles pour la cérémonie de clôture de la Saison de la Turquie en France, le premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan rencontrera mardi le président Sarkozy et son homologue François Fillon.

LE FIGARO. - La France et la Turquie ont des liens culturels forts. Quel message adressez-vous aux Français ?

Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN. - J'attache une grande importance à cette visite. Comme vous le savez, nous allons clore en France la Saison de la Turquie. Nos deux pays entretiennent des relations culturelles anciennes, visibles en Turquie notamment dans l'enseignement. À Istanbul, les lycées Galatasaray, Saint-Joseph, Saint-Benoît ou Notre-Dame-de-Sion en témoignent. Quant au système démocratique et laïque en Turquie, nous pouvons constater la forte influence de la France.

La France et l'Allemagne ne sont pas favorables à l'entrée de la Turquie dans l'Union européenne. Comment comptez-vous surmonter ces obstacles ?

Il serait plus exact de dire que certains Français sont sceptiques sur notre adhésion. Nous devons parvenir à modifier cette vision. Par le passé, j'ai travaillé avec M. Chirac et la situation était différente. Aujourd'hui, seul le leader a changé, le parti reste le même. J'ai donc du mal à comprendre pourquoi les choses se passent ainsi. J'espère que ma visite permettra de remédier à cela.

Comme vous le savez, Angela Merkel se trouvait à Ankara la semaine dernière. Selon moi, sa visite a été fructueuse. C'est la deuxième fois qu'elle vient depuis 2006. M. Sarkozy, lui, n'est toujours pas venu. Il raconte sans cesse un voyage qu'il a effectué dans sa jeunesse. Il doit venir voir à quoi ressemble la Turquie d'aujourd'hui. Lors de ma visite en France, je vais dire au président Sarkozy que nous l'attendons très prochainement en Turquie. Il faut se rendre sur place pour constater que la Turquie devance de nombreux pays de l'Union européenne dans plusieurs domaines.

Mais les opposants à cette adhésion estiment que votre pays serait un fardeau pour l'Union européenne…

Non seulement une Turquie dans l'UE ne sera pas une charge pour l'Europe, mais elle contribuera à la soulager. L'Union européenne a accepté de nouveaux membres qui constituent un fardeau. Nos amis européens le savent. Ces pays ont été admis pour des raisons politiques et l'Union européenne en paye aujourd'hui le prix. Elle investit lourdement pour essayer de faire évoluer ces derniers arrivants. La Turquie, elle, est parvenue au même niveau par ses propres moyens. >>> Par Etienne Mougeotte et Laure Marchand | Lundi 05 Avril 2010

Beitrittsdebatte: Erdogan warnt EU davor, ein "Christenclub" zu sein
WELT ONLINE: Neue Wortmeldung von Recep Tayyip Erdogan in der Beitrittsdebatte: Die Türkei wolle keine Belastung für die Europäische Union sein, sagte der türkische Ministerpräsident. "Wenn sie uns in der EU nicht wollen, verlieren wir nichts. Dann entscheiden sie sich eben dafür, ein Christenclub zu sein."

„Die Türkei ist ein großes Land aber wir möchten der EU nicht zur Last fallen." Das hat der türkische Ministerpräsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Bosnien gesagt, wo er sich für einen zweitägigen Besuch aufhielt.

Vielmehr wolle sein Land dabei helfen, die bestehenden Probleme zu überwinden, sagte der türkische Regierungschef auf einer Pressekonferenz in Sarajevo. Die Türkei wolle ein „friedliches Europa“, in dem sie ihren Platz einnehmen könne. >>> AFP/fas | Dienstag, 06. April 2010

Obama Limits When U.S. Would Use Nuclear Arms
President Obama on Monday discussing his new nuclear strategy, which would limit the conditions for using such weapons. Photograph: The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — President Obama said Monday that he was revamping American nuclear strategy to substantially narrow the conditions under which the United States would use nuclear weapons.

But the president said in an interview that he was carving out an exception for “outliers like Iran and North Korea” that have violated or renounced the main treaty to halt nuclear proliferation.

Discussing his approach to nuclear security the day before formally releasing his new strategy, Mr. Obama described his policy as part of a broader effort to edge the world toward making nuclear weapons obsolete, and to create incentives for countries to give up any nuclear ambitions. To set an example, the new strategy renounces the development of any new nuclear weapons, overruling the initial position of his own defense secretary.

Mr. Obama’s strategy is a sharp shift from those of his predecessors and seeks to revamp the nation’s nuclear posture for a new age in which rogue states and terrorist organizations are greater threats than traditional powers like Russia and China.

It eliminates much of the ambiguity that has deliberately existed in American nuclear policy since the opening days of the cold war. For the first time, the United States is explicitly committing not to use nuclear weapons against nonnuclear states that are in compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, even if they attacked the United States with biological or chemical weapons or launched a crippling cyberattack. >>> David E. Sancer and Peter Baker | Easter Monday, April 05, 2010