Breaking News! Cardinal Keith O'Brien Resigns over Allegations of 'Inappropriate' Behaviour
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

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Geert Wilders Australian Interview

Who is this guy interviewing Geert Wilders? He is totally off-the-wall; in fact, he is idiotic, totally misinformed. He really needs to WAKE UP! – © Mark

Lateline: Geert Wilders Interview: ABC TV Australia
Australian interview with controversial anti-Islamic Dutch politician Geert Wilders, interviewed before he visited Australia in February 2013. Wilders advocates the stopping of migration of Muslims to the West, amongst many other anti-islamic views. This interview raised many complaints to the ABC after it was broadcast on 13 Feb 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

Geert Wilders persona non grata en Australie

Pope Benedict's Last Sunday Prayer Service

Cowardly Critics of Geert Wilders Shame Our Country

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

A Rare Glimpse Inside the Remote Retreat Pope Benedict XVI Is Soon to Call Home

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

Pope Tells Faithful God Called Him To Quit
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

Türkei: Westerwelle will zügige Verhandlungen über EU-Beitritt

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

UK's Top Cardinal Accused of 'Inappropriate Acts' by Priests

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

Islam: The Enemy of Democracy and Freedom
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 »

Geert Wilders Liverpool Australia Speech

Geert Wilders in Liverpool Australia - Protestors

Depardieu s'établit officiellement rue de la Démocratie en Russie
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

George Osborne Insists He Won't Change Course Despite Credit Rating Downgrade

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

German President Joachim Gauck Uses Major Speech to Call for 'More Europe'

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

Obama kämpft für Zulassung der Homoehe

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

Un diplomate iranien demande l'asile en Norvège
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

Princess Cristina of Spain May Be Named in Corruption Case

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

EU-Beitrittsdebatte: Türkei drängt Deutschland zum Einlenken

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