THE OBSERVER: Film student in UK at heart of Greek neo-Nazi storm: Documentary-maker prompts investigation into Golden Dawn rally racism » | Tracy McVeigh | Sunday, March 24, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Boris Johnson was left writhing on live television as he was accused of lying over an alleged extra-marital affair, fabricating quotes and agreeing to help a friend with a plot to get someone beaten up.
Mr Johnson, widely considered a potential successor to David Cameron, looked distinctly uncomfortable as he was grilled about past misdemeanours on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.
Ahead of a new documentary about his life, the London Mayor was first questioned about allegations that he made up quotations in a piece of journalism.
He told his interviewer Eddie Mair that these were "big terms" for what happened, before going on to admit he had "mildly sandpapered" the truth. He said this was "very embarrassing" and he is now "very sorry about it".
Things got worse for Mr Johnson as he was then forced to field questions about an alleged extra-marital affair. Mr Mair asked whether he had told "barefaced lies" to Tory leader Michael Howard when he denied a relationship with Petronella Wyatt, a fellow journalist. Mr Johnson was sacked as a shadow minister over the episode in 2004. » | Rowena Mason, Political Correspondent | Sunday, March 24, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The mother of Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in a massacre in Norway in 2011, has died at the age of 66.
Breivik, who met with his mother Wenche at the prison where he is being held earlier this month, has said he would like to attend her funeral.
"He was allowed to say goodbye," Mrs Breivik's lawyer said. "They both knew it would be the final meeting... I spoke to him this morning. He was grieving. It was very sad news to him. "
Breivik, a 34-year-old right-wing fanatic, launched Norway's worst peacetime massacre on July 22, 2011.
He detonated a car bomb outside government offices in Oslo killing eight people and then drove to the island of Utoya where he massacred 69 in a shooting spree at the summer camp of the governing Labor Party's youth wing.
Five years before the massacre, Breivik had moved back to live with his mother and ended all social contacts. His mother never attended Breivik's 10-week trial for health reasons, but in a statement read in court she said Breivik had fabricated information. » | Associated Press in Oslo | Saturday, March 23, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Pope Francis has flown in for lunch with his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, in a cliff-top castle outside Rome - the first such encounter for nearly 720 years.
The Argentine Pope flew in by helicopter from the Vatican to Castel Gandolfo, where his German predecessor is enjoying the first few weeks of his retirement following his shock decision to resign last month.
The Vatican said the two popes embraced on the helipad. Walking with a cane, Benedict looked frail compared to the robust 76-year-old Argentine.
Traveling from the helipad to the palazzo, Francis sat on the right-hand side of the car, the traditional place of the pope, while Benedict sat on the left.
When they went to pray in the chapel, Benedict offered the place of honour, a kneeler before the altar, to Francis, who declined, saying, "We are brothers, we pray together." The two then prayed together from the same pew.
The Vatican spokesman, Rev Federico Lombardi said he understands Benedict offered his pledge of obedience to the new pope, while Francis thanked Benedict for his ministry. » | Associated Press and Agence France-Presse | Saturday, March 23, 2013
CNN: The Pakistani Taliban vowed to assassinate former President Pervez Musharraf if he returns to the country as planned Sunday, a spokesman for the terrorist group said in a video message online.
Tehrik-i-Taliban will send out a "death squad" to kill him, Ehsanullah Ehsan said Saturday.
One of the squad members addressed Musharraf in English, demanding the former president surrender himself.
After resigning in 2008, Musharraf spent five years in self-imposed exile in London and Dubai.
He plans to fly on a commercial airline into Karachi on Sunday, then attend a rally that will include Pakistani expatriates from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, he has said in a statement.
He plans to lead his political party into Pakistan's general elections slated for May. » | Aliza Kassim | CNN | Saturday, March 23, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Pope Francis has flown in for lunch with his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, in a cliff-top castle outside Rome - the first such encounter for nearly 720 years.
The Argentine Pope has flown in by helicopter from the Vatican to Castel Gandolfo, where his German predecessor is enjoying the first few weeks of his retirement following his shock decision to resign last month.
Crowds gathered in the central square of Castel Gandolfo this morning to catch a glimpse of something that has not been seen in centuries: two Popes together. After Francis's 15 minute helicopter ride, the two Popes – both dressed in white vestments – will sit down for a meeting before having lunch together in the magnificent castle, which is perched on the edge of an escarpment that plunges down to a cobalt blue volcanic lake.
The Vatican spokesman promised a general comment about the meeting, but no detailed statement.
There has been enormous speculation about what the two men in white might have to say to one another after making history together. Benedict's unprecedented resignation paved the way for the first pope from Latin America, the first Jesuit, and the first to call himself Francis after the 13th century friar who devoted himself to the poor, nature and working for peace. » | Nick Squires, in Rome, and agencies | Saturday, March 23, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A television drama exploring the guilt of ordinary Germans during the Second World War has become a ratings sensation in Germany, reaching more than seven million viewers.
Our Mothers, Our Fathers follows the lives of five young men and women – two brothers who become Wehrmacht soldiers, a singer, a nurse and their Jewish friend.
The drama begins on the eve of Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 and shows how the young people are rapidly corrupted by the Third Reich. One of the soldiers executes a Russian prisoner, while the nurse betrays a Jewish patient to the SS. The Jewish man is shown escaping the Nazis to find shelter with Polish partisans.
The three-part series has been hailed by critics as a "turning point" in German television for examining the crimes of the Third Reich at an individual level. The screenplay of Our Mothers, Our Fathers draws on the experiences of the film-makers' parents – the screenwriter Stefan Kolditz's father was a 19-year-old soldier on the eastern front, while a scene in which a Jewish child is shot was based on an event witnessed by the producer Nico Hofmann's father. » | Jeevan Vasagar, Berlin | Friday, March 22, 2013
Friday, March 22, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Britain's credit rating faces another downgrade in the next month after Fitch warned it is reviewing the country's "AAA" status in the wake of the Budget.
The agency warned that there is a "heightened probability of a downgrade" as it conducts a review of the rating by the end of April.
Fitch said its decision to put the UK on a "negative watch" was because Britain's debt will now be bigger than Chancellor George Osborne first forecast and is taking longer to bring under control. » | Andrew Trotman, and agencies | Friday, March 22, 2013
Wolfgang Bosbach »
Yassin Musharbash »
Güner Balci »
Ferid Heider, Imam »
NITI CENTRAL: In its December 30, 2012 issue, Urdu daily Dainik Munsif, reported that a special centre has been set up in France to propagate Islam in which around 300 youths are being given training. The youths will work as Imams in mosques and impart Islamic teachings.
According to the daily, out of 300 people, around 150 are Christian converts. They are being given religious teachings along with Arabic, and are also being trained to work as Imam. Women however, will not be allowed to work at this centre.
The daily also claimed that trained Islamic missionaries will be sent across Europe to propagate Islam. At present, there are 2,260 mosques in France where Islamic training is being given. [Source: NITI CENTRAL] | Niti Central Staff | Friday, March 22, 2013 | [Original Source: India Policy Foundation]
OMAHA.COM: President Barack Obama should listen to former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the “founder” of shuttle diplomacy.
Kissinger told Bloomberg TV’s Judy Woodruff recently that he sees little hope in the “Arab Spring,” nor is he optimistic about peace in the region following the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Welcome to the party, Dr. Kissinger. Some of us who have been denigrated for taking seriously the Muslim Brotherhood’s goal to promote radical Islam worldwide are happy for you to join us in Realityville.
The New York Times headlined a recent story: “Muslim Brotherhood’s Statement on Women Stirs Liberals’ Fears.” What took them so long? It isn’t like the fundamentalist Muslim position on women is new.
President Obama’s first in-office trip to Israel, the West Bank and Jordan, seemingly, is mostly about keeping Israel from attacking Iranian nuclear sites. He also may restate the failed policy of asking Israel to “do more” for peace. How about asking Israel’s enemies to do less: Less terrorism, less incitement, less teaching young people that Israel is evil and must be destroyed? » | Cal Thomas | Friday, March 22, 2013
REUTERS.COM: Pope Francis urged the West on Friday to intensify dialogue with Islam and appealed to the world to do more to combat poverty and protect the environment.
Speaking in Italian, the new pontiff said richer countries should fight what he called "the spiritual poverty of our times" by re-forging links with God.
"How many poor people there still are in the world! And what great suffering they have to endure!" he told the diplomats in the Vatican's frescoed Sala Regia.
Some critics of the Catholic Church, which has been struggling with scandals and internal divisions, say its rejection of contraception in particular harms the poor.
Others say it does much good in the developing world, running thousands of hospitals, schools, orphanages and hospices.
Francis made his appeal in an address to diplomats accredited to the Vatican, sending a message through them to the leaders of the 180 states with which the Vatican has diplomatic relations.
He urged them to help keep religion central in public life and promote inter-religious dialogue as a catalyst for efforts to build peace.
"In this work (peace building), the role of religion is fundamental. It is not possible to build bridges between people while forgetting God," he said.
"But the converse is also true: it is not possible to establish true links with God while ignoring other people. Hence it is important to intensify dialogue among the various religions, and I am thinking particularly of dialogue with Islam."
Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, said he was grateful that many Muslim religious and civilian leaders attended his inaugural Mass on Tuesday. DIALOGUE, NOT RIVALRY » | Philip Pullella | VATICAN CITY | Friday, March 22, 2013
AL JAZEERA: Citizens band together to arrest former British prime minister over involvement in Iraq's invasion a decade ago.
London, United Kingdom - It was only as David Cronin saw Tony Blair and his entourage striding towards him that he finally plucked up the courage to go through with his plan to attempt to arrest the former British prime minister over his role in the invasion of Iraq and claim a bounty on his head.
"I walked up to him very briskly and managed to put my hand on his arm and say, 'Mr Blair, this is a citizen's arrest,'" Cronin told Al Jazeera of the 2010 encounter at the European Parliament in Brussels, where he worked as a journalist.
"I didn't have time to say anything else before his bodyguards pushed me away, so I just shouted at him, 'You are guilty of war crimes!' He looked at me for a split-second before I was bundled off. I can only describe it as a look of puzzlement and contempt."
Ten years since British forces joined the US-led assault, many in the UK are more critical than ever of the country's involvement in a conflict documented by the Iraq Body Count database to have killed more than 112,000 civilians.
More than a fifth - 22 percent - of Britons polled by YouGov this month said they believed Blair should be tried as a war criminal for his role in the conflict, which was preceded by massive anti-war demonstrations in London and other cities.
Fifty-three percent said the invasion was wrong, while half said Blair, a key international ally of US President George W Bush, had deliberately misled the British people over the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction.
Blair's schedule these days is a closely guarded secret to avoid ambushes by the protesters who stalk his public appearances armed with eggs, shoes and banners reading: "BLIAR". Even his testimony at last year's phone-hacking inquiry was interrupted by an intruder shouting, "This man is a war criminal!" Online campaign » | Simon Hooper | Thursday, March 21, 2013
Verwandt »
HANDELSBLATT: Ex-Präsidenten Sarkozy droht im schlimmsten Fall eine Gefängnisstrafe. Denn es wird nicht leicht sein, die Vorwürfe des illegal finanzierten Wahlkampfs zu entkräften. Sein politisches Comeback rückt in weite Ferne.
Paris Nicolas Sarkozy könnte der erste französische Ex-Präsident werden, der ins Gefängnis muss. Seit dem späten Donnerstagabend ist er Beschuldigter in der sogenannten Bettencourt-Affäre, bei der es um illegale Spenden der reichsten Frau der Welt geht. Sarkozy soll, so die Vorwürfe, die Schwäche der 90-jährigen, stark dementen l’Oréal-Erbin ausgenützt haben, um 2007 seinen Wahlkampf um die Präsidentschaft zu finanzieren.
Wenn es seinem Anwalt nicht gelingt, die vom Untersuchungsrichter Jean-Michel Gentil zusammen getragenen Verdachtsmomente zu widerlegen, wird der im Mai 2012 abgewählte Sarkozy sich schon sehr bald vor Gericht verantworten müssen. Im Falle der Verurteilung drohen ihm drei Jahre Haft und eine Geldbuße von fast 400 000 Euro sowie der Verlust des passiven Wahlrechts für fünf Jahre. » | Von Thomas Hanker | Freitag, 22. März 2013
HANDELSBLATT: Traum vom Comeback »
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