Saturday, January 18, 2014
Talk To Al Jazeera: Ashton: 'We've Made Significant Progress'
Turkey Passes Controversial Medical Aid Bill
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| Erdogan is accused of becoming increasingly authoritarian |
A controversial medical bill that makes it a crime for doctors to provide emergency first aid without government authorisation has come into force in Turkey despite an outcry from rights groups.
Under the legislation that was approved by President Abdullah Gul on Friday, those convicted could be imprisoned for up to three years and face fines of nearly $1m from January 18.
Critics fear it could be used to bar doctors and medical workers from treating protesters wounded in anti-government demonstrations as reportedly happened during mass street protests in June last year.
The US-based Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) branded the legislation another attempt by the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to quash dissent.
"Passing a bill that criminalises emergency care and punishes those who care for injured protesters is part of the Turkish government's relentless effort to silence any opposing voices," PHR senior medical adviser Vincent Iacopino said.
"This kind of targeting of the medical community is not only repugnant, but puts everyone's health at risk," he said in a statement on the PHR website.
The legislation, drawn up by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), bars medical professionals from working outside state health institutions and is aimed at preventing doctors from setting up private clinics for example.
Medical professionals who break the law would face up to three years in prison and be fined up to $985,000 (728,000 euros). » | Source: AFP | Saturday, January 18, 2014
Valérie Trierweiler quitte l'hôpital pour la Lanterne
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| Valérie Trierweiler |
Valérie Trierweiler n'est plus à l'hôpital. La première dame a quitté sa chambre ce samedi dans l'après-midi à 15 heures pour se rendre à la Lanterne, la résidence de la République située dans les Yvelines à Versailles. Valérie Trierweiler a été admise il y a plus d'une semaine à la Pitié-Salpêtrière à Paris après la révélation de la liaison présumée de François Hollande avec l'actrice Julie Gayet par le magazine Closer.
Selon Le Canard enchaîné, la première dame avait été victime d'une "crise de nerfs". Information démentie par son entourage pendant que son cabinet indiquait qu'elle devait "prendre du repos". Puis, sa date de sortie de l'hôpital avait été reportée à plusieurs reprises. Un conseiller de l'Élysée assurait encore jeudi : "Rien n'est fixé, ce sont toujours les médecins qui sont maîtres de la décision." » | Source SIPA Media | samedi 18 janvier 2014
Der Euro muss weg, damit die EU gerettet wird
Ich gehöre zu einer seltenen und gefährdeten Spezies: Ich bin ein europäischer Föderalist, der daran glaubt, dass die EU auf lange Sicht so tief integriert sein sollte wie Brasilien, Indien oder die USA. Trotzdem möchte ich Sie dazu einladen, über eine Auflösung des Euro nachzudenken. Denn ich bin zu dem Schluss gekommen, dass die beschlossenen Maßnahmen zur Rettung des Euro am Ende zur Zerstörung der EU führen werden.
Der Euro ist ein mutiges Experiment, das gescheitert ist. Die gemeinsame Währung sollte für Einheit, Stabilität und Wachstum in einer immer engeren Union sorgen. Stattdessen ist die EU tief gespalten – wirtschaftlich, sozial und politisch.
Das europäische Projekt hat aufgehört, eine breit angelegte, kollektive Unternehmung zu sein, es ist nur noch auf eine einzige Dimension reduziert: den Euro zu retten. Die Wähler sind sauer – entweder als Folge der endlosen Austeritätsprogramme und beängstigend hohen Arbeitslosigkeit oder weil die Bürger in den Geberländern fürchten, dass ihnen auf undurchsichtige Weise die Verbindlichkeiten der Schuldenstaaten übertragen werden. » | Von François Heisbourg | Donnerstag, 16. Januar 2014
UK Storms Are Divine Retribution for Gay Marriage Laws, Says Ukip Councillor
A UK Independence party (Ukip) councillor has claimed that Britain's recent storms and floods are "divine retribution for the government's decision to legalise gay marriage.
David Silvester, who defected from the Tories in protest at David Cameron's support for same-sex unions, claimed he had warned the prime minister that the legislation would result in "disasters".
The Henley-on-Thames councillor said that the country had been "beset by storms" since the passage of the new law on gay marriage because Cameron had acted "arrogantly against the Gospel".
In a letter to the Henley Standard he wrote: "The scriptures make it abundantly clear that a Christian nation that abandons its faith and acts contrary to the Gospel (and in naked breach of a coronation oath) will be beset by natural disasters such as storms, disease, pestilence and war.
"I wrote to David Cameron in April 2012 to warn him that disasters would accompany the passage of his same-sex marriage bill.
"But he went ahead despite a 600,000-signature petition by concerned Christians and more than half of his own parliamentary party saying that he should not do so."
Blaming the prime minister for the bad weather, he added: "It is his fault that large swaths of the nation have been afflicted by storms and floods. » | Press Association | Saturday, January 18, 2014
Nigeria: Les gardiens de la charia promettent de punir l'homosexualité
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| Goodluck Jonathan |
Pour les gardiens de la loi islamique à Kano, la plus grande ville du nord du Nigeria, la nouvelle loi approuvée lundi par le président Goodluck Jonathan, qui punit l'homosexualité, est «une évolution bienvenue». Ils promettent de «travailler sans relâche» à son application.
«Dorénavant, nous irons dans chaque recoin de l'Etat de Kano pour contrôler que l'interdiction de la prostitution, des mariages de même sexe et la consommation d'alcool (...) est pleinement appliquée», a affirmé le chef adjoint de la Hisbah (police islamique des mœurs) de l'Etat de Kano, Usman Nabahani.
Comme bon nombre de pays africains - 38 sur 54 en juin 2013, selon Amnesty International -, le Nigeria bénéficiait déjà d'une législation réprimant l'homosexualité.
Mais la nouvelle loi promulguée lundi, qui prévoit une peine de 14 ans de prison en cas de mariage homosexuel et 10 ans d'emprisonnement pour les personnes de même sexe affichant publiquement leur relation, risque d'encourager une répression encore plus sévère envers les homosexuels, notamment dans le Nord musulman. » | ats/Newsnet | samedi 18 janvier 2014
Egyptians 'Will Kill Americans in the Streets', Prominent Editor Threatens
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| General Abdel Fatah al-Sisi |
A prominent Egyptian editor has threatened that Americans could be slaughtered in the streets in an extreme example of the growing xenophobic rhetoric by media outlets who back the country's army chief, General Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.
Speaking on a major TV talkshow, Mostafa Bakry speculated that the US government planned to assassinate Sisi, who ousted Egypt's first democratically elected leader, Mohamed Morsi, last July after mass protests against his one-year rule.
Bakry's comments come as the US is reportedly poised to unfreeze millions of dollars in aid to Egypt after the successful completion of a referendum on a new constitution, and follow praise of Egypt's post-Morsi transition by US the secretary of state, John Kerry. » | Patrick Kingsley in Cairo | Saturday, January 18, 2014
Vatican Defrocked 400 Priests for Molesting Children
The statistics for 2011 and 2012 show a dramatic increase over the 171 priests removed in 2008 and 2009, when the Vatican first provided details on the number of priests who have been defrocked. Prior to that, it had only publicly revealed the number of alleged cases of sexual abuse it had received and the number of trials it had authorized[.]
The document was obtained by the Associated Press and was prepared from data the Vatican collected to help the Holy See defend itself before a U.N. committee this week in Geneva.
However, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican's U.N. ambassador in Geneva, referred to just one of the statistics in the course of eight hours of questioning from the U.N. human rights committee.
While it's not clear why the numbers spiked in 2011, it could be because 2010 saw a new explosion in the number of cases reported in the media in Europe and beyond. » | Agencies | Friday, January 17, 2014
Friday, January 17, 2014
Anti-NSA Activists Don't Like Obama Speech
INTERNATIONAL NEW YORK TIMES: Obama Calls for Overhaul of N.S.A.’s Phone Data Collection Program » | Mark Landler and Peter Baker | Friday, January 17, 2014
The Plight of African Migrants in Israel
Putin über Homosexuelle: "Lassen Sie bitte die Kinder in Ruhe"
Moskau - Der russische Präsident Wladimir Putin hat sich drei Wochen vor Beginn der Olympischen Winterspiele in Sotschi in fragwürdiger Weise über den Umgang mit Homosexuellen geäußert. "Wir verbieten nichts, und wir sperren niemanden ein. Deshalb können Sie ruhig und entspannt sein", sagte der 61-Jährige an Homosexuelle gewandt, "aber lassen Sie bitte die Kinder in Ruhe."
Der Kommentar dürfte Empörung auslösen. In Putins Aussage schwingt der Vorwurf mit, Homosexuelle würden sich bevorzugt jungen Menschen nähern. Der Präsident wiederholt damit auch den Vorwurf, der seinen Getreuen zur Verteidigung des umstrittenen Gesetzes zum Verbot von Homosexuellen-Propaganda dient: dass Schwule und Lesben Einfluss auf Kinder und Heranwachsende nehmen könnten. » | hut/sid/dpa/AP | Freitag, 17. Januar 2014
Arabie saoudite ou Iran : la France a choisi son camp
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| Le président François Hollande, aux côtés du roi Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz al-Saoud, à l'occasion de sa visite en Arabie saoudite, le 29 décembre 2013 |
L'année 2013 a signé le retour de l'Iran. Isolée diplomatiquement sous l'ère Ahmadinejad, la République islamique est revenue sur le devant de la scène internationale par la grande porte. À la faveur de l'élection en juin du président "modéré" Hassan Rohani, Téhéran a changé de ton et a précipité la conclusion d'un accord intermédiaire limitant son programme nucléaire, qui empoisonne ses relations avec l'Occident depuis une décennie. Surtout, les ayatollahs ont entamé en catimini des discussions directes avec les Américains, une première en trente ans.
"Ce rapprochement entre l'Iran et les États-Unis, même s'il est timide, change totalement la donne de la région", souligne Fatiha Dazi-Héni, maître de conférences à l'IEP de Lille et spécialiste des monarchies du Golfe. Une évolution qui pourrait sensiblement modifier les rapports de force dans la guerre confessionnelle que se livrent musulmans sunnites (pays du Golfe) et musulmans chiites (Iran) et qui trouve actuellement son apogée dans le conflit syrien. » | Par Armin Arefi | vendredi 17 janvier 2014
Israel Berates 'Pro-Palestinian EU'
The Foreign Ministry said the envoys would be told that their "perpetual one-sided stance" is unacceptable.
On Thursday, the four EU countries summoned Israeli ambassadors to object to plans to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The EU's Catherine Ashton has labelled the settlements "an obstacle to peace".
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was "time to stop this hypocrisy" and "inject some balance and fairness to this discussion".
"The EU calls our ambassadors in because of the construction of a few houses? When did the EU call in the Palestinian ambassadors about incitement that calls for Israel's destruction?" he said at a meeting of foreign journalists on Thursday. » | Friday, January 17, 2014
Artistic Masterpieces Brought to Life with Video Magic
François Hollande and Julie Gayet 'In Love for Two Years,' Closer Magazine Claims
François Hollande has been having an affair with Julie Gayet for two years and the French president was introduced to the actress by Ségolène Royal, his ex-partner and mother of his four children, according to the gossip magazine that broke the story last week.
The magazine said the president and Miss Gayet had been having a "turbulent romance" that began in 2011, before Mr Hollande's election campaign.
The revelations in Friday’s edition of Closer, which Miss Gayet, 41, is suing for breach of privacy, came as Mr Hollande's official partner, Valerie [sic] Trierweiler, remained in hospital, where she was admitted after learning of the alleged affair a week ago. Friends were reported to have said on Thursday that she had taken “a pill too many” and was too weak to stand. » | Harriet Alexander | Friday, January 17, 2014
Thursday, January 16, 2014
The Nazi Occupation of Jersey - Radio Discussion, 2013
Churchill's government had decided the Channel islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark, were of no strategic importance and would be very difficult to defend and so, just a couple of weeks before, all troops had been withdrawn from the islands. The islanders were instructed to surrender to the German army. Hitler's forces were in occupation from July 1940 until the war ended in May 1945.
These were hard years for both the occupiers and the occupied. Food was scarce and, although acts of resistance were limited, the justice was harsh when it was meted out. Those who lived on the island were faced with a complex crisis of conscience - how should they live with the enemy?
In this edition of The Reunion, Sue MacGregor reunites a group of Jersey people who endured that difficult time, finding out how they look back on it seventy years on: Bob Le Sueur, a young insurance clerk at the time, who helped Russian prisoners hide from their German Captors; Leo Harris, a teenager at the beginning of the war, who carried out acts of 'boys own' resistance; Michael Ginns, who found himself in an internment camp in Bavaria; Hazel Lakeman, who was also taken off the island and interned in terrible conditions; and John Floyd, one of the few Jersey residents who actually managed to escape from the island.
Italian MP 'Blacks Up' in Parliament in Anti-immigration Tirade
UK Not 'Full Partner' with US, Says Former Defence Chief
Defence cuts are limiting Britain’s capacity to be “full partner” with America, a former US defence secretary has said.
Robert Gates, who served under George W Bush and Barack Obama, said the “fairly substantial reductions” in spending mean Britain can no longer stand alongside the US as a leading military player.
For decades British Armed Forces have had a so-called “special relationship” with their counterparts across the Atlantic - particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan recently - but Mr Gates’s comments indicate that partnership could be over.
He said America had always been able to “count on” Britain to stand shoulder to shoulder with them militarily, but reductions in spending mean UK forces can no longer offer a “full spectrum” of capabilities on land, in the air, and particularly at sea.
The Army is currently going through sweeping cuts as part of Coalition cost-cutting which will see the loss of 20,000 regulars by 2020, while there are further reductions in spending for the Royal Navy and RAF.
Mr Gates told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: "With the fairly substantial reductions in defence spending in Great Britain, what we're finding is that it won't have full spectrum capabilities and the ability to be a full partner as they have been in the past."
The former US defence chief singled out naval cuts as particularly damaging, noting that for the first time since the First World War Britain does not have an operational aircraft carrier. » | James Edgar | Thursday, January 16, 2914
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Hitler's Britain
Hollande Says France Will Not Tolerate Religious Hatred
France will not tolerate any hate speech or acts against Jews, Muslims or Christians, President Francois Hollande said Tuesday, just days after a comic whose sketches were viewed as anti-Semitic was banned from performing.
Hollande hailed as a "victory" a ban on Dieudonne's sketches initiated by Interior Minister Manuel Valls. The controversial comic has since been forced to cancel a nationwide tour after his attempts to challenge the ban in court failed.
The French leader added that all forms of religious hatred would be treated in the same way.
"There are acts, there are anti-Semitic words, there are anti-Muslim actions which all must be denounced," he said, also evoking "anti-Christian acts."
"None of these actions can be accepted," he said. "All citizens have to be protected." » | AFP | Wednesday, January 15, 2014
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