Russian Orthodox Church Embroiled in Corruption Scandal
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A Russian Orthodox provincial priest was revealed to have amassed a collection of luxury cars and to keep hundreds of thousands of pounds of cash in his safe.

An undercover investigation on Russian TV into Archpriest Mikhail Grigoriev of Kazan has raised wider questions about the propriety of the country's clerics and their relationship with wealthy donors who contribute to restoration work.

In the case of Father Grigoriev, he was shown to own a BMW jeep, a Mercedes jeep, and a Mercedes saloon as well as three flats and a country house. To add insult to injury, a secret camera filmed the priest bragging about his £60,000 Swiss watch, his £12,000 phone, while talking about his love of Italian designer clothes and fine dining. In an indication of how much wealth the priest had amassed, he complained of recently being robbed of the equivalent of £300,000 from his safe. » | Andrew Osborn, Moscow | Tuesday, September 26, 2011

Pope Calls for Unity Against Same-Sex Marriage

ADVOCATE: Pope Benedict XVI called for Christians to unite behind the idea that marriage is between one man and one woman during a visit to Germany.

He described the Catholic Church's beliefs as facing a number of threats, and he included same-sex marriage on the list.

"Knowing, too, the value of family and marriage, we as Christians attach great importance to defending the integrity and the uniqueness of marriage between one man and one woman from any kind of misinterpretation," he said, according to the Associated Press. "Here the common engagement of Christians, including many Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christians, makes a valuable contribution to building up a society equipped for the future." » | Lucas Grindley | Sunday, September 25, 2011

Thousands Run in Underwear in Utah to Protest against 'Uptight Laws'
NEWS.COM.AU: THOUSANDS of people stripped to their underwear and ran through Salt Lake City to protest what they called the "uptight" laws of Utah.

Undie Run organiser Nate Porter says the goal of the event on Saturday was to organise people frustrated by the conservative nature of state politics.

Nudity was prohibited by organisers. Participants donned bras, panties, nightgowns, swimwear or colorful boxer shorts - and some added political messages by expressing support for causes like gay marriage on their chests, backs or legs. » | AP | Monday, September 26, 2011

German Muslim Converts in UK Court on Terror Charges
EXPATICA | DE: Two German converts to Islam appeared at England's central criminal court on Monday charged with having information which could be of use in terrorism.

Christian Emde, 28, and Robert Baum, 23, appeared at the Old Bailey court in central London. They were arrested at the port of Dover on England's southeast coast on July 15.

The pair, from the city of Solingen in western Germany, were alleged to have had the material on a computer and a hard-drive. » | AFP | Monday, September 26, 2011

Conflit entre Chypre et la Turquie: la Grèce appelle «au calme»

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le Premier ministre grec Georges Papandréou et son homologue turc, Recep Tayyip Erdogan ont évoqué le conflit gazier opposant la république de Chypre à la Turquie en Méditerranée.

Le Premier ministre grec Georges Papandréou a appelé lundi au téléphone son homologue turc, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Les deux dirigeants ont évoqué le conflit gazier opposant la république de Chypre à la Turquie en Méditerranée.

Cette conversation téléphonique des deux alliés de l’OTAN intervient alors que la Turquie devait démarrer ce lundi ses propres explorations offshore dans l’est de la Méditerranée. Ankara réagissait aux explorations lancées par la République de Chypre.

«Les deux parties ont défendu leurs positions respectives» sur ce conflit, a indiqué un conseiller de M. Erdogan sous le couvert de l’anonymat. M. Erdogan a expliqué à son interlocuteur l’opposition de son pays aux prospections chypriotes-grecques en cours.

La Grèce a des rapports privilégiés avec la République de Chypre. Seule entité reconnue sur l’île, celle-ci ne dirige de facto que la zone de peuplement chypriote grec (sud). La Turquie elle est l’alliée du nord, turc. » | AFP | Lundi 26 Septembre 2011

Peres: Abbas Is the Best Palestinian Leader for Israel

HAARETZ: Israeli president urges his Palestinian counterpart to return to negotiating table, stressing that 'peace is possible'.

President Shimon Peres said Monday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is the best Palestinian leader Israel could work with toward the goal of resuming the peace process.

"I call on my friend, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who[m] I respect and acknowledge as the best leader Israel will work with, to return to the negotiating table," Peres said Monday at a Rosh Hashanah ceremony with foreign diplomats. » | Haaretz | Monday, September 26, 2011

Russia: Finance Minister Threatens to Quit over Medvedev

LOS ANGELES TIMES: Respected Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said he will resign if current President Dmitry Medvedev is named prime minister next year under a new Vladimir Putin presidency.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Putin said he will run for president in the spring and would select Medvedev as his prime minister if elected. Kudrin, who is one of the most trusted Russian politicians among foreign investors, said Sunday that he has fundamental economic disagreements with Medvedev.

"I do not see myself in the new government. The point is not only that no one has offered me the job. I think that the disagreements I have will not allow me to join the government," Kudrin said in Washington at a World Bank meeting, hours after Putin's announcement that he would seek a return to the presidency he previously held for two terms.

Kudrin, who has served as finance minister for the last 11 years, is believed to have a major role in Russia's economic growth and stability. Earlier this year Kudrin was seen as a likely choice for Putin's prime minister. » | Khristina Narizhnaya | Sunday, September 25, 2011

NZZ ONLINE: Das erste Opfer der russischen Rochade: Finanzminister Alexei Kudrin tritt nach Streit mit Medwedew zurück » | Reuters | Montag 26. September 2011

Malaysias Kirche stimmt Scharia-Einführung zu
RP ONLINE: Kuala lumpur (kna). Der Vorsitzende der katholischen Bischofskonferenz Malaysias, Bischof Paul Tan Chee Ing, wäre mit der Einführung des islamischen Strafrechts im Bundesstaat Kelantan einverstanden. "Wenn die Muslime in Kelantan es so wollen, dann ist es an der Zeit, nur für sie die Scharia einzuführen", sagte der Oberhirte des Bistums Malaka-Johor. Voraussetzung sei jedoch, dass Nichtmuslime von den Strafrechtsbestimmungen ausgenommen seien. Die Regelung müsse "feuerfest" sein. Kelantan wird von der islamischen Partei PAS regiert. [Quelle: RP Online] | RP | Samstag 24. September 2011

Iran : condamné à perdre un oeil
LE FIGARO: La cour suprême iranienne a confirmé l'application de la loi du talion pour un homme accusé d'en avoir aveuglé un autre à l'acide dans le cadre d'un conflit familial, a indiqué lundi le quotidien Shargh.

L'agresseur, prénommé Mohammad et âgé de 26 ans, avait été engagé il y a cinq ans par le beau-frère de la victime pour l'attaquer à l'acide, selon le journal.

La victime, Vali, est sortie quasiment aveugle --elle a totalement perdu l'usage d'un oeil et partiellement celui de l'autre-- et défigurée de cette attaque.

Oeil pour oeil

Un tribunal de Téhéran a condamné son agresseur à perdre un oeil en application de la loi du talion prévue par la Charia (loi islamique) en vigueur en Iran pour certains crimes. Il a également été condamné à deux ans de prison et à verser des dommages et intérêts à sa victime.

La loi du talion est le plus souvent appliquée en Iran dans les affaires de meurtre. La famille de la victime doit expressément la réclamer, la décision finale étant laissée à l'appréciation du juge. » | AFP | Lundi 26 Septembre 2011

Al-Qaida Cuts Off Hand of Child
ADELAIDE NOW: AL-QAIDA militants in Yemen severed the hand of a 15-year-old after he stole electrical cables, witnesses said yesterday.

The militants cut off the boy's hand with a sword in front of dozens of residents of Jaar, in the troubled southern province of Abyan, on Saturday evening before taking the limb around town for all to see.

Four witnesses at the scene confirmed the incident took place. They all requested anonymity due to fears of reprisals from militants.

Yesterday, the militants severed the hand of a 26-year-old man whom they also accused of stealing electrical cables, witnesses said.

"They brought in the accused with a doctor who drugged him and cut off his right hand," one witness said.

The man was then taken to a private clinic while the militants roamed around the town with the cut-off hand, witnesses said. » | AFP | Monday, September 26, 2011

US Students Spark Racism Row with Bake Sale

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A California students' group has sparked a racism and sexism row over plans for a bake sale in which people are charged according to their ethnic background and gender.

Campus Republicans at the University of California, Berkeley say critics have overreacted to their event planned for this week, which they insist is a protest over affirmative action.

The group's Facebook page lists the price of baked goods at the sale according to race: $2 for whites (£1.29), $1.50 for Asians, $1 for Hispanics, $0.75 for blacks and $0.25 for Native Americans.

"$0.25 FOR ALL WOMEN!" it added.

Campus Republican President Shawn Lewis said the idea of the "Increase Diversity Bake Sale" was to highlight a legislative bill to let California public universities consider race and gender in their admissions process. » | Sunday, September 25, 2011

Sarkozy Calls Crisis Meeting as Senate Vote Puts His Job in Danger
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency was in crisis on Monday as the French Right's historic Senate defeat threatened to torpedo his hopes for re-election.

The French leader was huddling with top allies after the Left defeated his fellow conservatives in historic Senate elections - a rebuff less than seven months before France's presidential election that could put his job in serious danger.

Even Mr Sarkozy's allies were calling from [sic] a new tack from him after the weekend electoral drubbing in which the opposition Socialists gained a thin majority in parliament's upper house.

The presidential palace said Mr Sarkozy conferred at his office Monday with Prime Minister Francois [sic] Fillon and Jean-Francois Cope [sic], the head of the conservative UMP party. Neither man spoke on the way out of the meeting.

Agriculture Minister and UMP platform chief Bruno Le Maire, on Radio Classique, called the election a "serious warning" to governing conservatives.

Mr Sarkozy's supporters were shell-shocked by Sunday's vote, which gave the left a majority the upper house for the first time in French history, and the week promised more revelations in an ongoing party-funding scandal.

"The moment of truth will come next spring. The battle begins tonight," Mr Fillon said in a statement late Sunday after the results became known. » | Monday, September 26, 2011

Spanish Prime Minister’s Election Call Sure to Usher in Right-wing Majority

THE GLOBE AND MAIL: When Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero went to bed on Sunday, he may well have picked up his Cervantes and turned to its climactic passage. It occurs when Don Quixote realizes that his bold efforts at heroism have not transformed Spain or caused anyone to love him, but have produced only heartbreak:

“The fact is,” he says to his squire Sancho, “that I was born to be an example of misfortune, and the target and mark at which the arrows of adversity are aimed and directed.”

On Monday afternoon, Mr. Zapatero will walk into the Madrid legislature and dissolve parliament. After eight dramatic years in office, he is triggering an election, set for November 20, that will end his political career (he will not be running for re-election) and almost certainly give the right-wing opposition Popular Party (PP) a huge majority.

If Greece is the financial black hole of Europe’s economic crisis, Spain has become its centre of political symbolism. It must have been with an allegorical eye that Barcelona decided to hold its last-ever bullfight on Sunday, for the next day would mark a stark transition from the bullish buoyancy of the Zapatero era to a more bearish, austere period of anxiety and panic.

Mr. Zapatero, who has transformed Spain like no other leader since Franco’s demise, became transformed into Europe’s ultimate unwitting victim, a Quixotic figure whose lance has proven useless. » | Doug Sanders | Monday, September 26, 2011

Ein Papst, der das Streiten lehrte

ZEIT ONLINE: Auf fromme, zuweilen theatralische Weise hat Benedikt XVI. das Land von Finanzkrise und Krieg abgelenkt. Gut so, dass er uns fragen ließ, woher wir kommen.

Vielleicht sollten wir zum Schluss dieser Papstreise einmal von ihrem wichtigsten Anlass sprechen, der in den Zeitungskommentaren peinlich vermieden wurde und auch bei uns noch nicht vorkam: Gott. Wer in der Gottesfrage der Wahrheit die Ehre geben will, kann sagen: Die Frage ist niemals beantwortbar, weil sie die Grenzen des menschlichen Vermögens überschreitet. Deshalb wäre Agnostizismus die einzig richtige Haltung zu Gott, Papst und Welt. Mit den Worten eines der prominentesten deutschen Theologen der Gegenwart: Die Ansicht, dass Gottes Existenz nicht erkennbar ist, wirkt "seinsgemäß, ehrlich, ja fromm – in Anerkennung dessen, wo unser Blickfeld endet."

Der Theologe ist natürlich niemand anders als Joseph Ratzinger, der in Sachen Gotteszweifel sogar noch weiter gegangen ist und über den Atheismus (als sozusagen gesteigerten Agnostizismus) einmal gesagt hat, er sei religionsgeschichtlich unverzichtbar als Protest gegen menschliche Verabsolutierungen, als Warnung vor dem Unwesen der Religion und als Chance, "die Religion auch als große Gefährdung des Menschen" zu erkennen. An solche Sätze darf man jetzt noch einmal erinnern, um zu verstehen, warum dieser deutsche Papst trotz aller ungeklärten Streitfragen, trotz aller brennenden Existenzprobleme des Katholizismus, in den letzten Tagen bei vielen Deutschen solchen Eindruck machte.

Benedikt XVI. ist eben kein naiver Religionsführer, kein bloß reaktionärer Oberbischof von Rom, sondern ein veritabler Denker, der das Unzeitgemäße seines Glaubens sieht und die alte Idee eines guten gerechten Gottes für die Gegenwart retten will. Diese Idee hat er jetzt an verschiedensten Orten vor verschiedenstem Publikum in gut einem Dutzend Ansprachen neu durchbuchstabiert.

Dabei argumentierte er keineswegs nur fromm, sondern auch in dem Wissen, dass viele seiner Zuhörer Gott bestenfalls für eine schöne Illusion halten. An einigen Stellen hat der Papst dies leicht melancholisch beklagt, aber er hat uns nie angeklagt und er hat der gottlosen Gesellschaft auch nicht mit jenseitigen Konsequenzen gedroht, wie es traditionsgemäß zum Amt der Geistlichen gehörte. Nein, Benedikts Reden waren der Versuch, in der Sache zu überzeugen statt von oben herab zu missionieren. Deshalb konnte man, egal ob Atheist, Agnostiker oder Glaubender, seinen Reflexionen über die Möglichkeiten des Menschseins etwas abgewinnen. » | Von Evelyn Finger | Montag 26. September 2011

'Ständig gelogen': Türkischer Premier attackiert Assad

DIE PRESSE: Die Türkei geht mit ihrem Langzeit-Partner in Damaskus auf Konfrontationskurs. Premier Erdogan bezichtigt Machthaber Assad der Lüge. Die syrische Opposition werde eine Repräsentanz in der Türkei eröffnen.

Die Türkei rückt immer deutlicher von ihrem früheren Partner Syrien ab. Ministerpräsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan warf dem syrischen Präsidenten Bashar al-Assad laut Presseberichten vom Montag vor, ihn mit Blick auf Reformversprechen "ständig angelogen" zu haben. Schon in den kommenden Tagen werde die syrische Opposition eine offizielle Repräsentanz in der Türkei eröffnen können, sagte Erdogan demnach vor mitreisenden Journalisten auf dem Heimflug von der UN-Vollversammlung in New York. » | Ag. | Montag 26. September 2011

Nétanyahou gagne en popularité après son discours à l'ONU

LE MONDE: Le discours ferme du premier ministre israélien Benyamin Nétanyahou contre la reconnaissance d'un Etat palestinien, prononcé vendredi à la tribune de l'Assemblée générale des Nations unies, aurait séduit une partie de l'opinion publique israélienne. Selon un sondage publié lundi 26 septembre par le quotidien israélien Haaretz, le chef du gouvernement voit sa popularité grimper en flèche. » | LEMONDE.FR avec Reuters | Lundi 26 Septembre 2011

Vladimir Putin's Face Sets Web Alight with Surgery Claims

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Speculation that Vladimir Putin may have had cosmetic surgery has resurfaced as he prepares to assume the Russian presidency for the third time

The 58-year-old Russian prime minister set the blogosphere alight at the weekend after accepting his party's presidential nomination at a glitzy Moscow event with his face looking suspiciously smooth.

The skin around his eyes was almost totally clear of bags and wrinkles, triggering a fresh wave of speculation that he has had a series of cosmetic procedures to keep his face looking youthful.

Set to turn 59 next month, Mr Putin prides himself on his image as a Judo-loving energetic action man who is in ideal shape to lead the world's largest country. Read on and comment » | Andrew Osborn in Moscow | Monday, September 26, 2011

Libye: des luttes pour le pouvoir retardent la formation d'un gouvernement
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: En Libye, la formation d'un nouveau gouvernement est freinée par des luttes intestines pour le pouvoir. Il existe également des tiraillements entre libéraux et islamistes.

Des luttes intestines pour le pouvoir retardent la formation en Libye d’un gouvernement transitoire annoncé en principe pour cette semaine, affirment des politiciens.

"Nous sommes confrontés à la mentalité libyenne qui veut que chaque tribu, chaque région, chaque ville ait sa part dans le nouveau gouvernement. Or, nous n’avons toujours pas libéré tout le territoire et (le dirigeant déchu Mouammar) Kadhafi garde toute sa capacité de nuisance", a expliqué samedi le président du Conseil national de transition (CNT) Moustapha Abdeljalil. » | AFP | Lundi 26 Septembre 2011

Papst beendet Deutschlandbesuch: Feierlicher Abschied - und offene Fragen
Der Papst flog am Sonntagabend vom Flughafen Lahr zurück nach Rom, am Flughafen verabschiedeten ihn Bundespräsident Christian Wulff und die Spitzen der katholischen Kirche in Deutschland. Vor allem seine Rede im Freiburger Konzerthaus könnte noch für Debatten sorgen.
Das Video hier abspielen

Queen Noor of Jordan's Gardener Sues for Sexual Discrimination

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Queen Noor of Jordan's head gardener is suing her employer for sexual discrimination, claiming that she was sidelined and denied access to her tools on the Royal estate.

Amanda Hill alleged that a male colleague was promoted to do her job, that she was "turfed out" of her office and excluded from staff decisions.

She said she was bullied into resigning when she complained to her bosses at Buckhurst Park in Windsor, Berks.

Queen Noor, who uses the sprawling multi-million pound estate when in England, could be called to give evidence at an employment tribunal when the case is heard next year.
The dispute began when Mrs Hill discovered that her groundsman, Danny Welland, had been given a pay rise and a new job title, allowing him to do her work.

The disgruntled employee launched proceedings against Queen Noor, the widow of the late King Hussein, former King of Jordan, after bringing the matter to her attention. » | Victoria Ward | Monday, September 26, 2011

Violent Clashes between Police and Protesters as Bahrain Votes
The Gulf state of Bahrain holds vote to fill seats vacated during unrest.

Read article here

Once Prosperous New Yorkers Forced to Live under Canvas in New Jersey Woods

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The white picket fence and manicured flowerbeds outside 1 Paradise Lane are straight from a picture postcard of idyllic suburban American life in the 1950s.

But its walls are no more than canvas. Its porch overlooks smouldering bonfires and scrawny hens scratching at dirt.

Its occupant is Marilyn Berenzweig, 61, who used to make $100,000 (£63,333) a year as a designer in New York’s garment district. Now she and her husband Michael are down and out, living in Tent City, Lakeland, New Jersey. There is no electricity or running water and racoons steal their food. “It’s not an easy life,” she said.

She and Mr Berenzweig, a former radio producer, are two of the 27 million Americans out of work or under-employed as recession stalks America. » | Jon Swaine, New Jersey | Sunday, September 25, 2011

Barack Obama's Hollywood Star on the Wane

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama arrived in Hollywood four years ago with a star-studded fund-raiser on Oprah Winfrey's lawn that featured Stevie Wonder in an event that helped propel him to the White House.

Surrounded by celebrities and movie power players like Cindy Crawford, Will Smith and Halle Berry, he was the political darling of the entertainment industry's liberal elite.
But Mr Obama's return to the West Coast today is much less glamorous, reflecting how much his star has waned.

Instead of Miss Winfrey's house, he will be at the less glamorous "House of Blues" nightclub on Hollywood's Sunset Strip with the rap singer B.O.B, a DJ called Adam 12, and The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles. Tickets for the event, hosted by a sitcom actor, have been available for just $250 (£160).

Hollywood is traditionally seen as a cash machine for campaigning Democratic candidates. In his first presidential campaign he found nothing but generous friends and open chequebooks.

But some of those wealthy supporters now feel frustrated by what they see as lack of progress on issues including the environment, gay rights, withdrawal from Afghanistan and closing Guantánamo Bay.

While few are openly criticising the president, much less supporting any of his possible Republican opponents, the word "disappointment" is surfacing regularly.

A string of other big name backers from four years ago have yet to donate at all. They include Matt Damon, who has been perhaps the most critical of Mr Obama's A-list friends. » | Nick Allen, Los Angeles | Sunday, September 25, 2011

Finnish Priest’s Anti-terror Campaign Backfires – Again

Immer mehr Deutschen treten zum Islam über

Labour 'Got It Wrong' on Immigration, Says Ed Miliband

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Labour “got it wrong” by introducing an immigration policy which allowed hundreds of thousands of foreigners to move to Britain, Ed Miliband admitted today.

The Labour leader insisted that the party had not set out to mislead the public over immigration but that the party’s policies had “effects on people right up and down the country” and that not enough was done to protect British workers.

Mr Miliband made the admission in an interview on the first day of Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool during which the party is under pressure to admit to mistakes made during its time in Government.

In the interview, the Labour leader also refused to criticise trade unions for threatening to strike in a dispute over pension reform.

Gordon Brown, the former Prime Minister, was recorded during the last election campaign criticising a pensioner expressing concern over immigration – an incident which is credited with characterising how Labour fell out of touch with the concerns of its supporters.

Yesterday, Mr Miliband was asked if he accepted that Labour had “lied” over the impact of its immigration policies.

“I don’t agree that we lied but I do agree that we got it wrong. I think we underestimated the level of immigration from Poland, which had a big effect on people,” he said[.]

In another interview, he said: “I think we did introduce, we did allow the entry of Poland into the free movement of labour too quickly, and that clearly had effects on people right up and down the country. We’ve clearly got to learn those lessons for the future when it comes to future accession…if you have a more open economy in Europe, you’ve got to put in the right protection for people, for workers.”

The previous Labour Government allowed virtually unchecked immigration from eastern Europe to Britain. » | Robert Winnett, Deputy Political Editor | Sunday, September 25, 2011

THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: The Labour Government ‘Covered Up’ on Immigration »

THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: Ed Miliband Won’t Call People Who Defraud the Welfare System ‘Cheats’ »

Related »

Benedikts Deutschland-Besuch: Papst fühlt sich Orthodoxen näher als Protestanten

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Protestanten dürfte dieser Papst-Satz enttäuschen: "Unter den christlichen Gemeinschaften steht uns die Orthodoxie am nächsten." Am letzten Tag seines Deutschland-Besuchs hat Benedikt XVI. seine Präferenzen klar benannt. Viel Lob gab es für einen ehemaligen Staatsmann - Helmut Kohl.

Freiburg - Die katholische Kirche steht nach Ansicht des Papstes den orthodoxen Kirchen in Deutschland näher als den Protestanten. Bei einem Treffen mit Vertretern der Orthodoxen sagte Benedikt XVI. am Samstag in Freiburg nach Angaben des Vatikans: "Unter den christlichen Kirchen und Gemeinschaften steht uns die Orthodoxie theologisch am nächsten."

Er habe die Orthodoxie "lieben gelernt", sagte er und sprach ausdrücklich von einer "Wiederherstellung der vollen Einheit, die wir erhoffen" - genau diese Worte hatten sich viele für das Treffen mit den Protestanten ersehnt. Die Hoffnung wurde jedoch enttäuscht. Am Freitag war der Papst mit Vertretern der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland zusammengekommen, hatte dabei aber nicht einmal kleine Zugeständnisse gemacht.

Bei seinem historischen Gespräch im Augustinerkloster in Erfurt forderte Benedikt XVI. stattdessen abermals eine Rückbesinnung auf den Glauben als Grundlage für den weiteren Ökumeneprozess. Zwar feierte der Papst einen ökumenischen Gottesdienst in einer evangelischen Kirche - eine weitere Annäherung der Konfessionen blieb jedoch aus. Es gebe in dieser Frage nichts zu verhandeln, wie es Politikern möglich sei, sagte Benedikt. » | ore/dpa/dapd/AFP | Sonntag 25. September 2011

Réconciliation? Netanyahu appelle les Palestiniens à négocier sans conditions préalables

LE MATIN: Le Premier ministre israélien Benjamin Netanyahu a appelé dimanche les Palestiniens à reprendre les négociations avec Israël sans conditions préalables afin d’aboutir à la paix au Proche-Orient.

"Si vous voulez la paix, mettez toutes vos conditions préalables de côté", a déclaré M. Netanyahu sur la chaîne de télévision NBC, à l’adresse du président palestinien Mahmoud Abbas.

Celui-ci a réaffirmé dimanche qu’il ne reprendrait pas les négociations sans "un arrêt complet" de la colonisation israélienne.

"Il n’y aura pas de négociations sans légitimité internationale ni un arrêt complet de la colonisation" israélienne, a déclaré M. Abbas devant une foule de partisans à Ramallah (Cisjordanie), à son retour de New York, où il a présenté vendredi la demande historique d’adhésion d’un Etat de Palestine à l’ONU.

Le Quartette pour le Proche-Orient (Etats-Unis, UE, ONU et Russie) a proposé vendredi aux Israéliens et aux Palestiniens de reprendre des pourparlers de paix avec l’objectif d’aboutir à un accord final fin 2012. » | LeMatin.ch & les agences | Dimanche 25 Septembre 2011

Vladimir Putin on Course to Be Russia's Next President as Dmitry Medvedev Steps Aside
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Vladimir Putin has dispelled months of speculation and confirmed he will return to the Russian presidency next year in a move that cements his already vice-like grip on the world’s largest country.


In a glitzy appearance before thousands of cheering supporters in a Soviet-era football stadium in Moscow, Mr Putin, currently the prime minister, accepted a stage-managed proposal from Dmitry Medvedev, the current president, to run for the presidency on a ticket for the ruling United Russia party in March next year.

"I want to thank you for the positive reaction to the proposal for me to stand for Russian president," said Mr Putin, beaming broadly to loud applause. "For me this is a great honour."

The decision means that Mr Putin, 58, is certain to become the next president of Russia in 2012 as the country remains a de facto one party state, with United Russia controlling the state media and all the key levers of power.

Mr Putin told his followers what Russia watchers had long suspected: that the two men had long ago cut a deal to allow Mr Putin to return to the presidency in 2012 after he was forced to stand down in 2008 on a technicality.

"I would like to say directly that the agreement about what should be done, what we should be doing (was) reached a long time ago, several years ago," Putin said. » | Andrew Osborn, Moscow | Saturday, September 24, 2011

Greek Girl Jenna, Convert To Islam

Why Israel Can't Withdraw to Its Pre '67 Borders Line

JERUSALEM CENTER FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS (JCPA) »

Arabie saoudite: les femmes auront le droit de voter
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le roi Abdallah d’Arabie saoudite a annoncé dimanche l’octroi aux femmes du droit de vote et d’éligibilité aux élections municipales.

Le roi Abdallah d’Arabie saoudite est intervenu dimanche dans un discours prononcé devant le Majlis al-Choura, ou conseil consultatif. Il a a annoncé l’octroi aux femmes du droit de vote et d’éligibilité aux élections municipales.

La femme saoudienne se voit accorder pour la première fois le droit de vote et d’éligibilité à un scrutin dans ce royaume ultraconservateur, où seules des élections municipales sont organisées. » | AFP | Dimanche 25 Septembre 2011

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Saudi women given right to vote by King Abdullah: Saudi King Abdullah has given the kingdom's women the right to vote for first time in nationwide local elections, due in 2015. » | Sunday, September 25, 2011

THE GUARDIAN: Saudi Arabia gives women right to vote: Saudi women will have the right to stand for office and vote in future local elections, says King Abdullah » | Reuters | Sunday, September 25, 2011

The Greek Tragedy: No Money, No Hope

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Despairing middle classes could be the biggest threat to Greece's future, writes Paul Mason in Athens.

Dmitris Andreou made the last sale out of his small estate agents business in June. His wife Mary, makes her living preparing high-school students for English exams.

But her living has dried up. Their savings are exhausted, their disposable income has dropped by about 50 per cent in two years, and they are angry.

"Some days we only buy the basics and a few days lately we were not able to buy even those. We have to count our cents to decide between buying bread, milk or butter," says Mary.

"Some days are better, but some are difficult. We don't buy clothes any more. People don't go out. There is simply no money around out there."

In their neat apartment in an Athens suburb, surrounded by family heirlooms and lace tablecloths, they are a world apart from the anarchist demonstrators who snatch the headlines whenever opposition to the EU-imposed austerity measures is discussed.

But what's happening in living rooms like theirs presents the bigger danger to the future of Greece. People are switching off: from politics, from the mass media, from social life.

"We would like to see the politicians executed," says Maria, not smiling as she delivers the joke. "Most people are saying this: politicians deserve capital punishment – at the Greek equivalent of Traitors' Gate. It would be a nice time for politicians to be heroes, to stand up and defend the people. But they're not." » | Paul Mason, BBC Newsnight's Economics Editor, Athens | Saturdaay, September 24, 2011

LOS ANGELES TIMES: Greece unveils more austerity measures: The struggling nation plans to cut 30,000 state jobs and reduce pensions in an effort to avoid default. » | Anthee Carassava, Los Angeles Times | Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Marine Le Pen: Is the 'Devil's Daughter' Right?

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Sitting in her office at the headquarters of France's Front National, the obligatory French Tricolour flag nearby, Marine Le Pen is relishing her I-told-you-so moment.

The striking blonde is not only enjoying her role as the wildcard that could upset next year's presidential election, but is profiting from a confluence of events that has made her look less the "devil's daughter" - as she has been called – and more a political diviner.

A decade ago, when the far-right FN warned abandoning the franc for the euro was madness and vowed to pull France out of the common currency, the idea was dismissed as nationalistic folly. Today, the economic crisis engulfing the eurozone, has made the once preposterous idea if not a possibility, then at least a possible solution to the continent's financial woes.

The remarkable turnaround is not lost on Miss Le Pen, who suffers neither false modesty nor self-doubt.

"Much of France now realises we were right to sound the alarm, because what we warned for a long time would happen, is now happening," she says.

"There is a normalisation of our movement that is incarnated by my personality. The effect has contributed to making our analyses more credible.

"Left voters have been betrayed by a political discourse that has no sense. Right voters have been betrayed by a party that has not kept its promises. This has allowed me to position myself as one of the three main candidates." » | Kim Willsher, Paris | Sunday, September 25, 2011

Netanyahou veut rencontrer Abbas

leJDD: Le Premier ministre israélien a tendu la main aux Palestiniens vendredi dans un discours à l'ONU. Mais Benjamin Netanyahou - qui souhaite rencontrer Mahmoud Abbas à New York - a également rappelé que, selon lui, les autorités palestiniennes "ont refusé de négocier".

Quelques minutes après le discours de Mahmoud Abbas à l'ONU, le Premier ministre israélien, Benjamin Netanyahou, est monté à la tribune new-yorkaise. "Je tends la main au peuple palestinien avec lequel nous recherchons une paix juste et durable", a-t-il déclaré dans un discours à l'Assemblée générale des Nations-Unies. Mais, dans la foulée, le responsable israélien à dénoncer l'attitude palestinienne. "La vérité est qu'Israël veut la paix, la vérité est que je veux la paix... (…) La vérité est que jusqu'à présent, les Palestiniens ont refusé de négocier," a-t-il ajouté, appelant à la reprise des négociations plutôt qu'à des résolutions onusiennes.

Selon Benjamin Netanyahou, "la base du conflit (au Proche-Orient) est le refus des Palestiniens de reconnaître l'Etat juif", rejetant ainsi la position palestinienne selon laquelle la question de la colonisation est à l'origine du conflit. "Faites la paix avec nous", a-t-il lancé. "Rencontrons-nous aujourd'hui (vendredi, ndlr) aux Nations-Unies", a-t-il ajouté à destination de Mahmoud Abbas. Vendredi, le président palestinien a déposé une demande d'adhésion d'un Etat de Palestine à l'ONU, sur la base des frontières de 1967. Il devait quitter New York vendredi soir. » | A-Ch. D. (avec AFP) - leJDD.fr | Vendredi 23 Septembre 2011

Abschlussmesse in Freiburg: Papst feiert mit 100.000 Gläubigen
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Es ist sein letzter Auftritt vor einem so großen Publikum während seines Besuchs in Deutschland: Papst Benedikt XVI. ist mit rund 100.000 Gläubigen auf dem Gelände des Freiburger Flughafens zu einer Heiligen Messe zusammengekommen. Am Abend fliegt er zurück nach Rom.

An seinem letzten Besuchstag in Deutschland ist Papst Benedikt XVI. mit rund 100.000 Gläubigen auf dem Gelände des Freiburger Flughafens zu einer Heiligen Messe zusammengekommen. Hinter der Rollbahn des Freiburger Flugplatzes war eine große Altarbühne für den Papst aufgebaut, für die Besucher standen tausende Bänke bereit.

Bei der Ankunft fuhr Benedikt XVI. mit dem Papamobil auf das Gelände. Er winkte, segnete Kinder und lächelte den Gläubigen zu. Einige hielten Plakate mit Grüßen hoch. Es ist der letzte Auftritt des Papstes vor einem so großen Publikum während seines Staatsbesuchs in Deutschland. » | FAZ.NET | Sonntag 25. September 2011

Maternity Units Refuse to Tell Parents the Sex of Unborn Babies
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: NHS maternity units are refusing to tell expectant parents the gender of their unborn baby, an investigation has found.

The hospitals say they are too short-staffed to establish the sex of the foetus during ante-natal screening.

But some medical groups believe the NHS policies are being driven by fears that females could be selectively aborted among cultures which value boys more highly.

There is also concern that it is driven by people threatening to sue over being told the wrong gender of child.

The Council of Europe is due to consider a draft resolution in October which recommends that all its 47 member states - including Britain - instruct hospitals to "withold [sic] information about the sex of the foetus" from parents.

The move is a bid to prevent the practice of selective abortion, which they say has reached worrying proportions in some former Soviet states.

The plans have triggered alarm in this country, where pregnant women who want to know if they are due a boy or a girl expect to find out, usually during 20 week scans to check for abnormalities, and sometimes at 12 weeks.

Now, a survey of maternity units in England discloses that several are already refusing to share the information. » | Laura Donnelly and Will Taylor | Sunday, September 25, 2011

BBC Turns Its Back on Year of Our Lord: 2,000 years of Christianity Jettisoned for Politically Correct 'Common Era'
MAIL ONLINE: The BBC has been accused of 'absurd political correctness' after dropping the terms BC and AD in case they offend non-Christians.

The Corporation has replaced the familiar Anno Domini (the year of Our Lord) and Before Christ with the obscure terms Common Era and Before Common Era.

Some of the BBC's most popular programmes including University Challenge, presented by Jeremy Paxman, and Radio 4's In Our Time, hosted by Melvyn Bragg, are among the growing number of shows using the new descriptions.

It states: 'As the BBC is committed to impartiality it is appropriate that we use terms that do not offend or alienate non-Christians.

In line with modern practice, BCE/CE (Before Common Era/Common Era) are used as a religiously neutral alternative to BC/AD.'

But the move has angered Christians, mystified other faith leaders and been branded unnecessary by the Plain English Campaign. Critics say the new terms are meaningless because, just like AD and BC, they still denote years in relation to the life of Christ.

Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Bishop of Rochester, said: 'I think this amounts to the dumbing down of the Christian basis of our culture, language and history. These changes are unnecessary and they don't achieve what the BBC wants them to achieve.

'Whether you use Common Era or Anno Domini, the date is actually still the same and the reference point is still the birth of Christ.' » | Chris Hastings | Saturday, September 24, 2011

Papst trifft Ex-Kanzler Kohl in Freiburg

Labour’s Embarrassing Immigration Secrets Revealed
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Reports kept under wraps by Labour showing that immigrants who came to Britain from Romania and Bulgaria had low education levels and were more likely to claim out-of-work benefits are to be released for the first time by ministers.

The figures are contained in five separate controversial studies commissioned by the last Labour government but never published - amid claims the party wanted to avoid a damaging row about its record before last year’s general election.

Ministers accused Labour of a “disturbing cover up” and promised to publish the reports - which cost the taxpayer a total of £165,000 and have now been seen by The Sunday Telegraph - in full within days.

The documents also contain revelations that immigrants from all countries into Britain are more likely to be out of work than the native population - and are less likely to engage in any form of “civic participation.”

More than one third of London’s population, moreover, has now been born outside the UK. » | Patrick Hennessy, Political Editor | Saturday, September 24, 2011

Destructive Palestinian State
YNET NEWS: Op-ed: Past experience shows that dreams of utopian Palestinian state will crush and burn

In trying to comprehend the world’s love fest and obsession with a Palestinian state, one must conclude that it is deluding itself into believing that such a state would greatly contribute to the wellbeing of the world.

However, a reality check reveals that such a belief is wishful thinking and has no basis in fact. One should just look at the nature of the autonomous Palestinian entity in the West Bank and Gaza created after the implementation of the 1993 Oslo agreement, with the Palestinian Authority controlling the daily internal affairs of most of the Palestinian people.

According to past evidence the Palestinian state will have the following characteristics: » | Shoula Romano Horing | Friday, September 23, 2011

A Country Struggles with the Return of the Wolf
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: For a decade now, wolves have been quietly advancing through eastern Germany and may be making inroads across the entire country. But people still haven't learned to live with the predator. Some glorify the wolves, others demonize them and many are simply afraid.

They are scenes one might normally expect to see in the Serengeti. But Franz Graf von Plettenberg has the privilege of watching them from his elevated hunting stand in the forests of eastern Germany.

In his case, though, it's a deer (rather than a gnu) that is walking calmly through the heath, even though the evil killer, a wolf (instead of a lion), is within sight, heading for the forest. It's as though the potential prey can sense that this wolf has already eaten his fill.

Plettenberg, a forest ranger, is responsible for close to 35,000 hectares (86,450 acres) of state-owned forest and open country. His territory also includes a military training area that became famous as the home of Germany's first wolf pack in 150 years.

Plettenberg likes the wolf, because it helps him deplete game populations, an important service because too many deer damage the forest. They love to eat the shoots of tender young seedlings and peel off the bark of larger trees and shrubs -- none of which is good news for someone interested in making money with timber.

There are, however, many hunters [who] don't share Plettenberg's point of view. They see the newcomer as a rival challenging them for prey and for control of the forest. "Until now, when hunters have been challenged to justify what they do, they've argued that it's up to them to do the work of wolves that no longer existed in German forests," says Plettenberg. But now that wolves have returned, hunters are complaining that they are driving away game. » | Rafaela von Bredow | Friday, September 23, 2011

Killer's Excessive Order Ends Texas's 'Last Request' Meals

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: HOUSTON – Texan death-row inmates will no longer get their choice of last meals, after the menu request of a man condemned for a hate-crime slaying left a bad taste in the mouth of a prominent senator.

Lawrence Russell Brewer, who was executed on Wednesday, asked for two chicken-fried steaks, a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, fried okra, a pound (450 grams) of barbecued meat, three fajitas, a meat lover's pizza, a pint (nearly half a litre) of ice-cream and a slab of peanut butter fudge with crushed peanuts.

Prison officials said Brewer did not eat any of it.

Brewer, a white supremacist gang member, was convicted of chaining James Byrd jnr, 49, to the back of a pick-up truck and dragging him to his death along a bumpy road in 1998. » | Michael Graczyk | Saturday, September 24, 2011

Putin Proposed for Russian Presidential Run by Medvedev

THE GUARDIAN: Current president's endorsement virtually seals his predecessor's return to power at the Kremlin

The prospect of Vladamir Putin leading Russia until 2024 become more realistic after Russia's ruling duo ended months of speculation on Saturday with President Dmitry Medvedev proposing his predecessor make a run fort the top job next year.

Medvedev told a congress of the ruling United Russia party that he would back Putin in his return to the Kremlin. That means Putin could lead Russia until at least 2024.

Speaking to thousands of flag-waving delegates in Moscow's Soviet-era Luzhniki stadium, Medvedev first accepted Putin's suggestion that he head the party's federal party list in December's parliamentary vote.

The crowd erupted into a gasp of surprise and then applause when he said: "I think it's right that the party congress support the candidacy of head of the government, Vladimir Putin, in the role of the country's president." » | Miriam Elder in Moscow | Saturday, September 24, 2011

ANDREW OSBORN: Vladimir Putin versus Dmitry Medvedev » | Friday, September 23, 2011

Pope Meets Abuse Victims During German Trip

REUTERS: Pope Benedict held a surprise meeting on Friday with victims of clerical sexual abuse and expressed his deep regret for their suffering, saying the church was committed to the protection of children, the Vatican said.

The private meeting came on the second day of Benedict's four-day trip to Germany, where record numbers of Catholics have officially left the faith in protest at clerical abuse, and where the Church faces some 600 requests for compensation.

The Pope was "moved and deeply shaken" and assured victims the Church was "committed to the promotion of effective measures to protect children," the Vatican said in a statement.

The meeting took place in a seminary in Erfurt, in eastern Germany, and was similar to those held by Benedict on other recent trips. The wording of the statement also mirrored those issued after previous meetings.

Victims' associations have said the Vatican has not done enough to bring the perpetrators to justice, a view echoed by German victims who joined 8,000 protesters on a march through Berlin, where the Pope began his visit.

Earlier on Friday the Pope visited the monastery where Martin Luther lived before launching the Reformation, and warned his Lutheran hosts that "a new form of Christianity" posed challenges to mainline Protestants and Catholics alike.

While not naming them, it was clear he was referring to the evangelical and Pentecostal churches which have spread rapidly, especially in developing countries, by attracting converts from more established churches.

He appealed for unity between Roman Catholics and Protestants, who began their split from the Catholic Church when Luther, who had lived in Erfurt as a Catholic monk, posted his 95 theses on a church door in 1517.

Few people turned out to see the pope in Erfurt, a Protestant city under tight security for the visit, but about 90,000 Catholics -- 40,000 more than expected -- flooded the nearby Catholic town of Etzelsbach [sic] for a vespers service.

Benedict told the Lutherans: "Faced with a new form of Christianity, which is spreading with overpowering missionary dynamism, sometimes in frightening ways, the mainstream Christian denominations often seem at a loss.

"This is a form of Christianity with little institutional depth, little rationality and even less dogmatic content, and with little stability. This worldwide phenomenon poses a question to us all: what is this new form of Christianity saying to us, for better and for worse?" » | Philip Pullella and Sarah Marsh | ERFURT, Germany | Friday, September 23, 2011

Das sagte der Papst im Bundestag

Aïcha Kadhafi assure que son père combat sur le terrain

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Aïcha Kadhafi, la fille du dirigeant libyen déchu, a assuré vendredi soir que son père allait bien et combattait sur le terrain, s’en prenant aux nouvelles autorités qu’elle a qualifiées de traîtres, dans une intervention téléphonique sur la chaîne Arraï basée en Syrie.

Aïcha Kadhafi, la fille du dirigeant libyen déchu, a assuré vendredi soir que son père allait bien et combattait sur le terrain, s’en prenant aux nouvelles autorités qu’elle a qualifiées de traîtres, dans une intervention téléphonique sur la chaîne Arraï basée en Syrie.
"Soyez tranquilles, votre grand leader va bien, il porte les armes et combat sur les fronts", a dit Aïcha Kadhafi sur la chaîne qui diffuse régulièrement des messages de dignitaires de l’ancien régime.

"Vous pouvez être fiers de votre leader", a-t-elle affirmé s’adressant au "peuple résistant" de Libye, qu’elle a appelé à se "soulever" contre les nouvelles autorités qualifiées de "traîtres". » | AFP | Vendredi 23 Septembre 2011