THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Flustered Barack Obama on the back foot over Israeli settlements: Barack Obama experienced the sobering realities of re-engaging with the Middle East peace process on Thursday when the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, openly challenged his line on Jewish settlements. target=_blank> » | Robert Tait, Jerusalem | Thursday, March 21, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Flustered Barack Obama on the back foot over Israeli settlements: Barack Obama experienced the sobering realities of re-engaging with the Middle East peace process on Thursday when the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, openly challenged his line on Jewish settlements. target=_blank> » | Robert Tait, Jerusalem | Thursday, March 21, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Justin Welby warned against “severing the roots” of more than 1,000 years of Christianity in Britain as he was enthroned as 105th Archbishop of Canterbury.
In an impassioned sermon at Canterbury Cathedral he attributed some of the greatest advances in our history – from the abolition of slavery to the foundation of the NHS – to its Christian heritage.
He said that Britain’s laws and social order drew on its “rootedness in Christ”.
And he insisted that the Church must now focus on new battles including combating global poverty and protecting the environment.
His comments came amid a colourful enthronement service attended by the Prince of Wales and David Cameron as well – for the first time in recent years – the leaders of all branches of the Anglican church worldwide.
Speaking about the miracle of walking on water he urged the Church not to be cowed by falling numbers ands said there was “every possible reason for optimism” about its future.
Speaking after taking his p[l]ace on the Sixth Century throne of St Augustine, he said: “For more than 1,000 years this country has to one degree or another sought to recognise that Jesus is the son of God; by the ordering of its society, by its laws, by its sense of community.
“Sometimes we have done better, sometimes worse.
“When we do better we make space for our own courage to be liberated, for God to act among us and for human beings to flourish. » | John Bingham, Religious Affairs Editor | Thursday, March 21, 2013
As it happened: Archbishop of Canterbury enthronement » | Thursday, March 21, 2013
THE INDEPENDENT: Jordan's monarch hits out at US journalist as comments about several Arab leaders cause a stir
The King of Jordan has fired a broadside against a veteran US journalist for penning a magazine article in which the monarch was quoted berating other Middle Eastern leaders and describing his country’s tribal elders as “dinosaurs”.
Abdullah II’s court released a statement calling Jeffrey Goldberg’s 10,000-word piece for The Atlantic “inaccurate and dishonest” after its contents caused a stir in regional media. Of particular contention were what seemed to be derisory references to the leaders of Turkey and Egypt, and tribal chieftains in Jordan’s impoverished south.
The article, which paints a portrait of a weary monarch with a deep mistrust of the Muslim Brotherhood, comes at a delicate time for the pro-Western King. Abdullah managed to cling to power even as his country was buffeted by Arab Spring protests, but he has since faced increasing criticism from the country’s tribes – a traditional backbone of support. » | Loveday Morris | Beirut | Wednesday, March 20, 2013
THE ATLANTIC: The Modern King in the Arab Spring: Amid the social and political transformations reshaping the Middle East, can Jordan's Abdullah II, the region's most pro-American Arab leader, liberalize his kingdom, modernize its economy, and save the country from capture by Islamist radicals? » | Jeffrey Goldberg | Monday, March 18, 2013
THE FOUNDRY: At yesterday’s debut showing of Silent Conquest: The End of Freedom of Expression in the West at The Heritage Foundation, one of the most shocking moments was a comment by Lars Hedegaard, a Danish historian and chairman of the Danish Free Press Society.
Hedegaard was asked: Could the screening of this movie and the free intellectual discussion of the advance of Islamic Sharia law in the West have taken place at a European—say British—think tank? “No, I don’t think so” was his chilling answer. The subjects of Islam and Sharia have simply become taboo in many European countries. Free speech advocates, among them moderate Muslim voices, are deeply concerned.
As shown in Silent Conquest, throughout Europe, in Canada, and even in the United States, judicial systems in countries with large Muslim minorities are under pressure to adopt Sharia free speech restrictions. As a result, in many places, including Denmark, it is now a crime to say anything negative about Islam or the prophet Mohammed, regardless of whether such statements are factual or not. The concept that even offensive speech is protected—so fundamental to the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment—is collapsing. » | Helle Dale | Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Britain's new media regulator will "stifle" journalism and end 300 years of press freedom, The New York Times has warned.
In an editorial, the newspaper says that the draft royal charter will "create a system of government regulation" and damage democracy.
It argues that existing criminal and civil laws are sufficient to deal with phone hacking and "egregious actions" by tabloid newspapers, such as the now defunct News of the World.
The editorial says: "In an attempt to rein in its reckless tabloid newspapers, Britain's three main political parties this year agreed to impose unwieldy regulations on the news media that would chill free speech and threaten the survival of small publishers and Internet sites.
"The kind of press regulations proposed by British politicians would do more harm than good because an unfettered press is essential to democracy.
"It would be perverse if regulations enacted in response to this scandal ended up stifling the kind of hard-hitting investigative journalism that brought it to light in the first place." » | Steven Swinford | Wednesday, March 20, 2013
HERALD SUN: THE Cyprus fiasco teaches a terrific - but often forgotten - lesson to every social planner of the Left.
That fiasco is the astonishing decision to steal up to 10 per cent from every bank deposit in Cyprus to help fund a bailout of that country's banks.
This overnight theft was a condition demanded by the new masters of Europe, the European Union and International Monetary Fund, to raise $8 billion towards its $12.5 billion bailout of Cyprus.
But Cypriots reacted with such fury that not one Cypriot MP dared back the plan and even the Cypriot President, who reluctantly struck the deal last week, dropped it "because (the people) think it is unjust".
The banks remained closed for days to stop a bank run by people who rightly realised their accounts were now overseen by thieves and the panic threatened to spread to other debt-crushed European countries.
Even in Australia, our markets plunged $30 billion for fear of what might happen next. As former Cyprus central bank governor Athanasios Orphanides rightly said: "To confiscate deposits is essentially sending a message that no one with deposits ... in a weak country, like Spain, should feel safe ..."
So here are the lessons for the Left. » | Andrew Bolt | Herald Sun | Wednesday, March 20, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Pope Francis has called for "friendship and respect" among all faiths at a meeting with representatives of major world religions in the Vatican.
The Roman Catholic Church would "promote friendship and respect between men and women of different religions," the pope said, a day after his formal inauguration in St Peter's Square.
"We can do a lot for the good of people who are poor, who are weak, who suffer... and to promote reconciliation and peace," Francis told them.
Representatives of Orthodox Christianity, Judaism and Islam were among those present at the meeting.
Latin America's first pontiff said they should be united against "one of the most dangerous pitfalls of our time - reducing human beings to what they produce and what they consume." » | Agence France-Presse in Vatican City, edited by Sarah Titterton | Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Prince Charles Official Opening Speech of the Hajj Exhibition at the British Museum: Official Opening of the Hajj Exhibition at the British Museum, London. Thursday 26th January, 2012 by HRH Prince Charles, Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah and Prince Muhammad bin Nawaf (Saudi Ambassador to the UK). »
CHIESA: The Virgins and the Grapes: the Christian Origins of the Koran – A German scholar of ancient languages takes a new look at the sacred book of Islam. He maintains that it was created by Syro-Aramaic speaking Christians, in order to evangelize the Arabs. And he translates it in a new way » | Sandro Magister | Wednesday, March 17, 2004
MAIL ONLINE: ’Follow the Islamic way to save the world,’ Prince Charles urges environmentalists » | Rebecca English | Thursday, June 10, 2010
SAPHIR NEWS: Le prince Charles, héritier de la couronne britannique, et son épouse Camilla Parker Bowles sont actuellement en visite au Moyen-Orient.
L'occasion pour Camilla de parler de l'intérêt que porte son mari pour l'islam, rapporte des magazines people britanniques. Le prince, qui a commencé à apprendre l'arabe, désirerait se familiariser avec le Coran, aurait déclaré son épouse.
Selon la presse, cette déclaration a surtout pour but d'attirer l'attention sur elle et son couple au détriment de Kate Middleton, dont la grossesse fait les belles heures des paparazzis. Cette dernière, très attachée au christianisme, n'aurait d'ailleurs pas appréciée et considérerait que Camilla veut encore embarrasser la famille royale.
Il faut dire que ses propos alimentent une nouvelle fois la rumeur autour d'une probable conversion du prince héritier à l'islam alors que son statut ne l'y autorise pas car la famille royale dirige l'Eglise anglicane. Toutefois, son intérêt pour l'islam perdure visiblement.
Après une visite en Jordanie puis au Qatar, le couple est arrivé, vendredi 15 mars, en Arabie Saoudite, non sans controverse, deux jours après l'exécution de sept jeunes hommes condamnés à mort. » | Rédigé par La Rédaction | lundi 18 mars 2013
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The head of Colorado’s Department of Corrections was fatally shot Tuesday night as he opened the front door of his home, the authorities said, hours before Gov. John W. Hickenlooper was scheduled to sign into law a series of restrictive gun control measures.
The department’s executive director, Tom Clements, 58, lived with his family in Monument, near Colorado Springs in central Colorado, the authorities said. The police have not identified a suspect. » | Timothy Williams | Wednesday, March 20, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A vicar has spoken of his shock after intruders broke into his church and set fire to the Bibles.
None of the church's valuable items were taken during the break-in, but a stained glass window was smashed using a vase from the graveyard and Bibles and hymn books were burned.
Rev Goronwy Evans, minister at the church for 46 years, believes that they burned the holy books in an “abysmal” attempt to set the church on fire.
"In this day and age break-ins are a part of life, but it was shocking to see what they had done," he said.
The scene was discovered by a woman who was bringing flowers to her mother's grave in the churchyard at Brondeifi Unitarian Chapel, in Lampeter, Ceredigion, south west Wales. » | Hayley Dixon | Wednesday, March 20, 2013
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