Russia Ready to Annex Moldova Region, Nato Commander Claims

THE GUARDIAN: Philip Breedlove says large force on eastern border of Ukraine could easily move into Trans-Dniester if the decision was made

Nato's most senior military commander said on Sunday that Russia had amassed a large military force on Ukraine's eastern border, and warned that Moldova's separatist Trans-Dniester region could be the Kremlin's next target.

General Philip Breedlove, Nato's supreme allied commander, described the Russian force that began exercises 10 days ago as very, very sizeable and very, very ready.

"There is absolutely sufficient force postured on the eastern border of Ukraine to run to Trans-Dniester if the decision was made to do that. That is very worrisome," Breedlove said. » | Luke Harding in Donetsk | Sunday, March 23, 2014

Sharia Law in UK: Calls for Parliamentary Inquiry

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Calls for an inquiry into scale of Sharia law in the UK as Law Society insists it was responding to demand with its guidance

Calls for a Parliamentary inquiry into the scale of Islamic law in the UK are mounting after the body representing solicitors in England Wales issued formal guidance on making “Sharia compliant” wills.

The Law Society was accused of giving its stamp of approval to discriminatory practices after it published advice on writing wills which deny women an equal share and exclude “illegitimate” children or unbelievers.

The society denied promoting Sharia and insisted that it was simply responding to demand.

But MPs said the publication would be a “wake-up call” for those who support women’s equality. » | John Bingham, Religious Affaira Editor | Sunday, March 23, 2014

The Price of Failed American Leadership?

Mar. 22, 2014 - 6:38 - Russian President Vladimir Putin shows no signs of backing down from his Ukraine land grab

Sharia law Is Well and Truly Operating in the UK – Thanks to the Law Society

NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY: Sadikur Rahman, of the Lawyers Secular Society, fears a practice note issued by the Law Society could compromise the Code of Conduct for solicitors and increase the application of Sharia law in the UK.

It was with incredulity that I saw this practice note issued by the Law Society last week.

Lawyers will know that practice notes issued by the Law Society are guidance on best practice for specific topics or areas of law.

This practice note provides guidance to lawyers specialising in areas such as wills, succession and inheritance, and in particular how to accommodate the wishes of clients who want to ensure their assets are distributed according to 'sharia law principles' on their death.

I'm not a wills lawyer, but according to memory in the UK unless you draw up a will, on death your estate will be distributed according to the rules of intestacy. I'm sure most lawyers will also say that clients can do whatever they want with their assets, and it has always been the case that a lawyer must follow the client's instructions on such issues.

But what this guidance does is legitimise discrimination towards women and "illegitimate children" – if that term still has any meaning in English law. In an astonishing few paragraphs the guidance states (at Section 3.6):

"The male heirs in most cases receive double the amount inherited by a female heir of the same class. Non-Muslims may not inherit at all, and only Muslim marriages are recognised. Similarly, a divorced spouse is no longer a Sharia heir, as the entitlement depends on a valid Muslim marriage existing at the date of death.

"This means you should amend or delete some standard will clauses. For example, you should consider excluding the provisions of s33 of the Wills Act 1837 because these operate to pass a gift to the children of a deceased 'descendent'. Under Sharia rules, the children of a deceased heir have no entitlement, although they can benefit from the freely disposable third.

"Similarly, you should amend clauses which define the term 'children' or 'issue' to exclude those who are illegitimate or adopted."

Now, of course a person has always been able to distribute their assets in any way they wish and a Muslim may completely legally have distributed their assets according to sharia principles, without letting the lawyer know the basis of the instructions. The difference now is that a solicitor could offer this service to a Muslim client and the Muslim client can say they want to distribute their assets in a certain way because of their religious requirement. » | Sadikur Rahman | Friday, March 21, 2014

Islamic Law Is Adopted by British Legal Chiefs

Under ground-breaking guidance, produced by The Law Society,
High Street solicitors will be able to write Islamic wills

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Solicitors told how to draw up Sharia-style wills penalising widows and non-believers

Islamic law is to be effectively enshrined in the British legal system for the first time under guidelines for solicitors on drawing up “Sharia[-]compliant” wills.

Under ground-breaking guidance, produced by The Law Society, High Street solicitors will be able to write Islamic wills that deny women an equal share of inheritances and exclude unbelievers altogether.

The documents, which would be recognised by Britain’s courts, will also prevent children born out of wedlock – and even those who have been adopted – from being counted as legitimate heirs.

Anyone married in a church, or in a civil ceremony, could be excluded from succession under Sharia principles, which recognise only Muslim weddings for inheritance purposes.

Nicholas Fluck, president of The Law Society, said the guidance would promote “good practice” in applying Islamic principles in the British legal system.

Some lawyers, however, described the guidance as “astonishing”, while campaigners warned it represented a major step on the road to a “parallel legal system” for Britain’s Muslim communities.

Baroness Cox, a cross-bench peer leading a Parliamentary campaign to protect women from religiously sanctioned discrimination, including from unofficial Sharia courts in Britain, said it was a “deeply disturbing” development and pledged to raise it with ministers.

“This violates everything that we stand for,” she said. “It would make the Suffragettes turn in their graves.” » | John Bingham, Religious Affairs Editor | Saturday, March 22, 2014

The Wolf Hunt Returns to France as Species Makes a European Comeback

Conservation groups furious as government allows limited hunting of protected grey wolf amid rise in attacks on farm animals

Read the Telegraph here | Henry Samuel, Caussols | Saturday, March 22, 2014

Freedom of Speech Is 'Universal' Right, Michelle Obama Tells China

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Amid a growing crackdown on Chinese dissidents, the US First Lady tells an audience in Beijing that the "questioning and criticism" of political leaders is crucial

Freedom of information, expression and belief should be considered "universal rights", Michelle Obama, the US first lady, told students in China on Saturday.

Speaking at Peking University on the second full day of a weeklong, bridge-building family tour of the country, Mrs Obama said: "It is so important for information and ideas to flow freely over the internet and through the media."

"When it comes to expressing yourself freely, and worshipping as you choose, and having open access to information - we believe those are universal rights that are the birthright of every person on this planet," Mrs Obama told an audience of around 200 students.

"My husband and I are on the receiving end of plenty of questioning and criticism from our media and our fellow citizens, and it's not always easy.

"But I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world." » | Tom Phillips, Shanghai | Saturday, March 22, 2014

Newsnight Economics Editor Duncan Weldon's 'Embarrassing' Fascist Past

Duncan Weldon is the TUC's chief economist but once
dabbled in far-Right politics

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Duncan Weldon admits to youthful 'flirtation' with fascism and once wrote about attending BNP demos

When a TUC official was hired by Newsnight as its new economics correspondent, the BBC faced familiar accusations of Left-wing bias.

But Duncan Weldon has admitted that he once had a brief, “witless” dalliance with fascism, having been an admirer of Oswald Mosley when he was a boy.

As a 19-year-old student, he wrote an article for his university newspaper headlined “I was a fascist”, in which he described attending British National Party meetings and taking part in a “violent” demonstration against asylum seekers.

Writing under the pseudonym Sam Healey in the Oxford University student newspaper Cherwell in 2002, he wrote that after attending several BNP meetings: “I was starting to consider myself a Fascist – a patriot – one of the few who understood that in order to regain what we once had, we may have to take distasteful methods.”

The hiring of Mr Weldon by the Newsnight editor Ian Katz, a former deputy editor of The Guardian, had already raised eyebrows because Mr Weldon has virtually no professional journalistic experience. » | Gordon Raynor, Chief Reporter | Friday, March 21, 2014

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle Cannot Rock the Boardroom

Allison Pearson took on a gathering of ferociously ambitious Chinese businesswomen to argue that you can't excel in the boardroom and be the perfect mother at home

Read and comment on the Telegraph article here | Friday, March 21, 2014
My comment:

I must confess that I find it hard to understand women’s obsession with having it all: a career, motherhood, and wifehood. It seems to me that they end up like the proverbial dog chasing its tail – always attempting to catch it, but never quite doing so.

Whatever happened to the concept of mothers putting baby first? Whatever happened to mothers tending to baby’s needs, first and foremost?

This obsession women have of being successful in their careers has led to an awful lot of trouble in society. To start with, the divorce rate has shot through the roof. Further, the house is often no longer the home. It was always said that the mother was the heart of the home; but with mothers being absent from the home for much of the day, they can no longer fulfil this rôle properly.

Then we come to the fact that all these working mothers have driven up the price of houses. So much so that it is now virtually impossible for many married couples even to entertain the idea that the wife might be better off staying home, rather than going out to the workplace.

But what have we gained in all this? Are people really so much better off? And what about the health of the mother? Are they really doing their long-term health any good by pushing themselves so much? And this, of course, ignores the long-term damage done to so many children, many of whom simply go off the rails.

I’d be interested to know if any others feel as I do. Am I really such a lone voice? – © Mark

This comment appears here too.

Ukraine : "Nous sommes au bord de la Troisième Guerre mondiale"

LE POINT: L'ancien colonel du KGB et ancien patron des services secrets ukrainiens, Igor Smeshko, estime que l'Ukraine doit répondre militairement à l'agression russe.

Ancien patron du SBU, les services secrets ukrainiens, et ancien colonel du KGB lorsque l'Ukraine appartenait encore à l'Union soviétique, Igor Smeshko connaît tous les secrets militaires des deux pays. Et c'est un homme en colère. Contre Poutine bien sûr. "Il fait prendre à l'Europe le risque de la Troisième Guerre mondiale", dit-il. Mais aussi contre l'actuel gouvernement ukrainien au pouvoir depuis la chute de Victor Ianoukovitch qui, selon lui, n'a rien fait pour éviter l'annexion de la Crimée par la Russie et pour montrer à Poutine que l'Ukraine était en mesure de se défendre. Un étonnant coup de colère dans un pays où le gouvernement de coalition tente justement de montrer que le pays est soudé. » | D’envoyé special du Point à Kiev, Romain Gubert | samedi 22 mars 2014

Putin Mocks US Sanctions, Vows Not to Strike Back

Vladimir Putin has mocked US sanctions imposed on Russia, saying he will open an account at US-sanctioned Rossiya Bank. During a meeting with the country's senior security officials he added that he won't introduce a visa regime with Ukraine

Moscow and Crimea Light Up Skies with Fireworks to Celebrate Reunion

Moscow and Crimea are celebrating their reunion, after the republic officially became part of Russia. The majority of Crimeans voted to leave Ukraine and join the Russian Federation last Sunday, and less than a week later, after all the legal procedures were wrapped up, Russia officially accepted the peninsula into its territoty. Crowds have gathered in the centre of Simferopol, Sevastopol and Moscow to join in the festivities.

Putin Orders Fireworks over Moscow as He Laughs Off US Sanctions

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Russian president painted events in victorious colours, ordering fireworks in Moscow and Crimea to celebrate the official annexation of the peninsula

Fireworks have been let off over Moscow on President Vladimir Putin’s orders as Russia celebrated the formal annexation of Crimea, in a front to the West.

Mr Putin laughed off the US sanctions that targeted his inner circle, promising the Russian government would “have the back” of those on the list, and even opening a personal account at a sanctioned bank as an act of solidarity.

“Far as I’m aware, it’s an average bank,” Mr Putin said on Friday of Bank Rossiya, the only institution on the list of sanctions targets released by the US Treasury Department on Thursday. “I don’t have a personal account there, but I’ll open on on Monday.”

And in what appeared to be a move to de-escalate tensions, he even said he had no intention of imposing answering reactions. “We should refrain from retaliatory steps,” he said. » | Roland Oliphant in Simferopol and Yekaterina Kravtsova in Moscow | Friday, March 21, 2014

Pope Francis: 'Hell Awaits' Mobsters Unless They Change Their Ways

Pope Francis delivers his speech during a meeting with relatives
of innocent mafia victims, in Rome's St. Gregorio VII church,
just outside the Vatican.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: In a trenchant speech, the Pope railed against the mafia and donned a ceremonial garment once worn by an Italian priest killed by the mob

Pope Francis has warned Italy’s mafia they will go to hell unless they repent and reminded them they cannot take their “blood stained money and blood stained power to the next life.”

Speaking at an emotional vigil in Rome on Friday attended by around 900 relatives of people murdered by Italy’s mafia clans, Francis told mobsters to “please change your life”, adding: “We pray for you, I am asking you on my knees to convert, it is for your own good.”

Francis delivered his somber, strongly worded attack after the names of all 842 innocent people killed in Italy by the mafia since 1893 were read out at the Church of San Gregorio VII, close to the Vatican.

“This life that you live will not give you joy or happiness,” he said. “Convert, there is time before you finish up in hell, which is what awaits unless you change path,” he said. “You have a father and a mother – think of them and convert.” » | Tom Kington, Rome | Friday, March 21, 2014

Le pape aux mafieux: «changez de vie» »

Russland druckt neue Landkarte

TAGES ANZEIGER: In der Regel dauert in Russland die Produktion einer neuen Landkarte bis zu drei Jahre. Nun soll die Krim aber innert Monaten darauf Platz finden. Für viele Bewohner ist die Lage klar – sie besorgen sich russische Pässe.

Schon in wenigen Wochen sollen die neuen russischen Landkarten fertig sein – mit der Erweiterung um die Krim. «Wir brauchen keine besonderen Messungen. Das ganze wird höchstens ein bis zwei Monate dauern», sagte der Präsident der Staatlichen Universität für Geodäsie und Kartographie, Viktor Sawinych. » | mw/sda | Freitag, 21. März 2014

Le pape aux mafieux: «changez de vie»

24 HEURES: Le pape François a lancé un appel aux «hommes et aux femmes de la mafia» à «changer de vie, à arrêter de faire le mal, à se convertir».

Le pape François a lancé vendredi un appel aux «hommes et aux femmes de la mafia» à «changer de vie, à arrêter de faire le mal, à se convertir», lors d'une cérémonie en mémoire des victimes de la criminalité organisée à Rome. » | afp/Newsnet | vendredi 21 mars 2014

Türkischer Premier Erdogan: Der Staat bin ich

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Die Vorwürfe gegen den Premier der Türkei wiegen schwer: Bestechlichkeit, Einschüchterung, Größenwahn. Trotzdem gilt seine AK-Partei als Favorit bei den Kommunalwahlen Ende März. Was macht Erdogan so unverwundbar?

Istanbul/Rize - Alles muss spektakulär sein, wenn Recep Tayyip Erdogan erscheint, natürlich auch am Sonntag, wenn er in Istanbul buchstäblich Neuland betritt: Eine viele tausend Quadratmeter große Halbinsel wurde im Marmara-Meer geschaffen, mit Grünflächen und Parkplätzen für 2000 Autos und 1000 Busse. Erdogan will sie eröffnen, er will vor 1,5 Millionen Fans Wahlkampf machen. Kleiner geht es nicht.

Erdogan hat den Spruch "Versprich einem Türken eine Autobahn, eine Shoppingmall, einen Flughafen, und er wählt dich" verinnerlicht wie kein anderer türkischer Politiker. Bei vielen Wählern kommt der Größenwahn gut an. » | Von Hasnain Kazim | Freitag, 21. März 2014

Listening Post: Erdoğan: Control, Conflict, Conglomerates

In a special edition, we unpack the Turkish prime minister's relationship with the media landscape in which he operates.

US Government Giving Up Control of Internet

Mar. 17, 2014 - 3:12 - James Rosen reports from Washington, D.C.

The Foxhole: How Is US Diplomacy Viewed in the World Today?

Mar. 18, 2014 - 26:04 - American Enterprise Institute's Michael Rubin on how the US strategy of establishing a dialogue might not be our best course of action