John Boehner: Wine and Cigarettes More Important Than Running in 2016

THE GUARDIAN: Republican House speaker says he wouldn't make sacrifices for White House - including cutting the grass

US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner says he has no interest in running for the White House because he doesn't want to give up smoking, drinking – and cutting his lawn.

Boehner, who has fought a bitter battle with President Barack Obama over health reforms and spending, said on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno that he was not about to give up red wine and cigarettes to be president.

Asked by Leno whether he ever thought of running for president, Boehner replied, "No.

"I like to play golf. I like to cut my own grass," said Boehner, the top Republican in Congress.

"I do drink red wine. I smoke cigarettes. And I'm not giving that up to be president of the United States." Read on and comment » | Friday, January 24, 2014

Pope Francis Tells François Hollande: 'We Share a Patron Saint'

With his complicated love life attracting global headlines, François Hollande holds an awkward first audience with Pope Francis

Read the Telegraph article here | Nick Squires, the Vatican | Friday, January 24, 2014

Ukraine Government Ready to Resign, Protests Spread across Country

Rioting has spread to the west of the country - with protesters sieging and breaking into administration buildings. Meanwhile in Kiev, the opposition and the government are now expected to announce the results of their talks. Let's get the latest from RT's Peter Oliver, who is there in the capital.

British Man Sentenced to Death for Blasphemy in Pakistan

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A Pakistani court has passed the death sentence on a British national with mental health problems

A court in Pakistan has sentenced a British man to death for blasphemy for claiming to be a prophet of Islam, a prosecutor and police said Friday.

Mohammad Asghar, a British national of Pakistani origin, was arrested in 2010 in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, for writing letters claiming to be a prophet, police said.

The special court inside Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail, where Asghar is being held, rejected defence claims that the 65-year-old has mental health problems.

"Asghar claimed to be a prophet even inside the court. He confessed it in front of the judge," Javed Gul, a government prosecutor, told AFP.

"Asghar used to write it even on his visiting card." » | AFP | Friday, January 24, 2014

Mark Carney: No Need for an Immediate Rate Rise

Mark Carney, Canadian Governor of the Bank of England

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Bank of England governor seeks to reassure markets that interest rate rise is not imminent, saying he doesn't want to focus on one indicator

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has pledged there will be no “immediate” increase in interest rates as unemployment nudges closer to the 7pc threshold in an apparent softening of his forward guidance policy.

He said Bank of England policymakers look at “overall conditions in the whole labour market”, rather than just one indicator, and that any change, when it comes, would be “very gradual”.

The governor, who said that the UK economy was "in a different place" to when he introduced the guidance, added: “We don’t see an immediate need to change monetary policy."

Asked if he would consider lowering the 7pc threshold, Mr Carney added: “There are a broad range of things we could do, I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion … we’re trying to get across is that it’s all about overall conditions in the labour market.

“We wouldn’t want to detract from that focus by unnecessarily focusing on one indicator.” » | Denise Roland | Thursday, January 23, 2014

My comment:

"No need for an immediate rise [in interest rates]" – Mark Carney

No, there is no need for him. He's sitting pretty with his huge salary and exorbitant expenses. The rest of us have to make ends meet from our savings. What a thoughtless, unreasonable man Carney is!

Never in my lifetime can I remember not being able to get interest on my capital that at least equates to the rate of inflation, and then some. Does this man have no sense of true capitalism? Does this man have no sense of economic history?

What an utter disappointment this Governor is! – © Mark

This comment appears here too.

French Holiday Home Alert after Burglaries Rocket by 18 Per Cent

The village of Castelnau in Dordogne, France

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: French police launch 'Operation Holiday Tranquility' to crack down on thefts from second homes

Burglaries in rural holiday homes in France, where tens of thousands of Britons own properties, rocketed by almost 18 per cent in a year, according to new figures released yesterday, with the government blaming the sharp rise on an influx of Eastern European criminals.

Figures by The French National Supervisory Body on Crime and Punishment , ONDRP, showed burglary and theft were up in 2013 across France but that second homes — both foreign and French-owned - were by far the hardest hit, despite increasing efforts by police and the gendarmerie to step up protection.

Approximately 200,000 Britons own second homes in areas such as the Dordogne and other parts of France, particularly those serviced by budget airlines. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Thursday, January 23, 2014

Ukraine Protests Spread beyond Kiev amid Crisis Talks

BBC: Violent protests in Ukraine have spread beyond the capital, Kiev, ahead of a crisis meeting between President Viktor Yanukovych and three key opposition leaders.

The governor of Lviv, in the west, was forced to sign his resignation as protesters stormed his offices.

Other reports spoke of protests in at least five more western cities.

Two people died in clashes in Kiev on Wednesday, the first deaths in two months of protests over EU links.

The anti-government protests flared in late November over Mr Yanukovych's decision to pull out of a landmark treaty with the European Union.

A fragile truce is currently being observed in Kiev.

However, an opposition ultimatum is set to expire after the talks with Mr Yanukovych, which have now begun and are set to go into the evening.

Ahead of the talks, Mr Yanukovych asked the speaker of parliament to hold an emergency session next week to discuss the crisis.

But he told the head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, that he would not introduce a state of emergency.

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, who is in Davos in Switzerland, echoed this, but added: "People should not think that the government lacks available resources to put an end to this. It is our constitutional right and obligation to restore order in the country." (+ BBC videos) » | Thursday, January 23, 2014

Protest greift auf weitere ukrainische Städte über

TAGES ANZEIGER: Ukrainische Medien vermelden, dass in mehreren Städten Verwaltungsgebäude gestürmt worden sind. Präsident Janukowitsch versucht mit einem politischen Manöver Zeit zu gewinnen.

Wie die «Kyivpost» schreibt, haben heute in den Städten Lemberg und Riwne im Westen der Ukraine Demonstranten das Gebäude der regionalen Verwaltung gestürmt. In Lemberg zwangen sie den von Präsident Viktor Janukowitsch eingesetzten Gouverneur Oleg Salo, ein Rücktrittsgesuch zu unterzeichnen. Salo widerrief die Unterschrift später. Am Abend wurden dann auch Proteste aus der Stadt Tscherkassy südlich von Kiew gemeldet. Tausende Menschen hätten das Gebäude der Provinzverwaltung gestürmt. » | ldc/mw/sda | Donnerstag, 23. Januar 2014

So viele Gotteskrieger stellt die Schweiz

TAGES ANZEIGER: Schon länger werden Schweizer Jihadisten in den Reihen der syrischen Widerstandkämpfer vermutet. Der Bund bestätigt dies erstmals und nennt eine Zahl.

Der Nachrichtendienst des Bundes geht davon aus, dass rund zehn Schweizer Kämpfer in Syrien sind oder dorthin aufgebrochen sind. Das bestätigte Sprecher Felix Endrich heute in der Sendung «Echo der Zeit» von Schweizer Radio SRF.

Bei den Kämpfern könne es sich um Dschihadisten oder um Abenteurer handeln, sagte Endrich. Der Nachrichtendienst beobachte die Jihad-Reisenden aufmerksam. Sie könnten im Ausland in einem Lager ausgebildet und radikalisiert werden. «Sehr gefährlich sind die Rückkehrer und jene, die in der Schweiz rekrutieren. Und diese Szene überwachen wir», erklärte Endrich. » | mrs/sda | Donnerstag, 23. Januar 2014

West's 30-year Vendetta with Iran Is Finally Buried in Davos

Hassan Rouhani

TELEGRAPH BLOGS – AMBROSE EVANS-PRITCHARD: The Iranian nuclear deal is on. Hassan Rouhani's charm offensive in Davos has been a tour de force, the moment of rehabilitation for the Islamic Republic. His words were emollient.

"The world hasn't seen a speech like that from an Iranian leader since the Revolution," tweeted Ian Bremmer from the Eurasia Group.

Anybody betting on oil futures in the belief that Iran's nuclear deal with great powers is a negotiating ploy – to gain time – should be careful. There is a very high likelihood that the sanctions against Iran will be lifted in stages, leading to an extra 1.2 barrels a day on the global market just as Libya, Iraq, and the US all crank up output.

“One of the theoretical and practical pillars of my government is constructive engagement with the world. Without international engagement, objectives such as growth, creativity and quality are unattainable," said Rouhani.

"I strongly and clearly state that nuclear weapons have no place in our security strategy,” he said. Read on and comment » | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Thursday, January 23, 2014

Ein deutscher Muslim spricht über sein Leben als Konvertit

New Converts to Islam

Almost Two Sydney Women a Week Are Converting to Islam

THE TELEGRAPH (AUSTRALIA): MORE THAN 100 people - most of them women - are converting to Islam in Sydney each year, and ­experts warn some new converts are more likely to adopt extremist elements of the religion.

Such radicalism was highlighted by the death last week in Syria of former Queensland Anglican schoolgirl turned Muslim jihadist Amira Karroum, 22, who is believed to have been killed by rebel fighters in Aleppo alongside her US-born husband Yusuf Ali.

Ms Karroum had adopted an extremist form of the faith, praising terrorist Osama bin Laden and supporting the ­violent Muslim riots in Sydney in 2012.

The pair were based in Granville before travelling to Syria to fight in December.

Another Granville man, Caner Temel, 22, has been named as the latest Australian victim of the civil war in Syria.

The Australian New Muslim Association estimates two-thirds of the converts they see each year are female, with more than 60 per cent converting because of their husbands or partners.

Julia Moukhallalati was just 18 when she swapped her Orthodox Christian upbringing for the mosques of western Sydney. » | Ben McClellan | Saturday, January 18, 2014

Yard's Plea to Muslims: Help Stop Children Turning to Terror

Commander Richard Walton

LONDON EVENING STANDARD: Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism chief today appealed to Muslims across the country to help stem the flow of young Britons heading for the fighting in Syria.

Commander Richard Walton warned that a “shocking” number of children are being lured into terrorism.

He said officers were already receiving increasing support from Islamic organisations and families in their struggle to combat radicalisation. But police were “desperate” to obtain further help to prevent vulnerable teenagers and other young Britons becoming involved in the Syrian war.

It was “almost inevitable” that some Britons fighting in Syria would seek to carry out attacks here on their return, he added, and the conflict had “all the ingredients for making terrorists”. » | Martin Bentham | Thursday, January 23, 2014

Anjem Choudary: Transform Buckingham Palace into a Mosque

Pat Condell: A Knighthood for Andy Choudary

Islamic Economics - The Solution for World Crisis

Father of Islamic Banking, Dr. Hussain Hamed Hassan at Dubai International Peace Convention 2010.

Erdogan will totale Kontrolle über das Internet

DIE WELT: Zeitungen werden in der Türkei schon lange zensiert. Mit einer Änderung im Internet-Gesetz will Erdogan nun auch Online-Inhalte beeinflussen und so das Verhalten seiner Bürger im Netz kontrollieren.

Erst Gewalt gegen die Gezi-Park-Proteste, dann die Korruptionsskandale der türkischen Regierung und schwerwiegende Eingriffe in die Justiz – jetzt erhitzt die Regierung des türkischen Premiers Recep Tayyip Erdogan mit einem neuen Aufreger die Gemüter.

Er möchte per Gesetz Internetseiten sperren, Inhalte im Netz kontrollieren, das Internetverhalten der Bürger beobachten und Daten für zwei Jahre speichern. Kritiker fürchten staatliche Internetzensur, der türkische Unternehmerverband bewertet das Vorhaben als "besorgniserregend".

Die türkische Regierung möchte mit den neuen gesetzlichen Eingriffen erreichen, dass der Staat ohne jeglichen Gerichtsbeschluss die freie Nutzung des Internets kontrollieren und steuern kann. So soll er Zugriff auf Daten haben, die zeigen, welche Seiten besucht worden sind, welche Begriffe die Bürger in Suchmaschinen eingegeben haben und welche sozialen Medien sie nutzen. » | Von Cigdem Toprak, Istanbul | Donnerstag, 23. Januar 2014

Snowden Requests Extra Security After Receiving Death Threats

Whistleblower Edward Snowden is reportedly set to request additional protection from Russian authorities after receiving a growing number of death threats. The former NSA contractor has been living at an undisclosed location in Russia since August when he received asylum from Washington's prosecution. RT's Marina Portnaya reports.

Malaysia King Says ‘Allah’ Is Only for Muslims

The 14th king of Malaysia, Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah

RUSSIA TODAY: Only Muslims can use the word Allah to refer to God, the Malaysian King has declared adding fuel to the long-running dispute and raising questions over rights of religious minorities in the country where Islam is followed by about 60 % of the population.

Intervening in the dispute for the first time, Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah urged Sunday representatives of all other communities to respect Muslims’ exclusive right in order to maintain stability and harmony in Malaysia.

“In the context of a pluralistic society, religious sensitivities especially related to Islam as the religion of the federation should be respected,” the King said in a speech, cited by Malaysian state news agency Bernama.

“Confusion and controversy can be averted if there is adherence to the provisions of the law and judicial decisions,” he added.

The term ‘Allah’ came to the language used by the nation’s dominant Malay ethnic group from Arabic and is used to describe ‘God’ by people of all faiths.

Sultan Abdul Halim, 86, is one of the nine sultans who take turns every five years to serve as head of state.

The king’s role in Malaysia is largely ceremonial and his powers are limited. However, he is considered a defender of Islam and enjoys the respect of the Muslim population. » | Published: Sunday, January 19, 2014 | Edited: Tuesday, January 21, 2014