Wednesday, March 20, 2013
CHIESA: The Virgins and the Grapes: the Christian Origins of the Koran – A German scholar of ancient languages takes a new look at the sacred book of Islam. He maintains that it was created by Syro-Aramaic speaking Christians, in order to evangelize the Arabs. And he translates it in a new way » | Sandro Magister | Wednesday, March 17, 2004
MAIL ONLINE: ’Follow the Islamic way to save the world,’ Prince Charles urges environmentalists » | Rebecca English | Thursday, June 10, 2010
SAPHIR NEWS: Le prince Charles, héritier de la couronne britannique, et son épouse Camilla Parker Bowles sont actuellement en visite au Moyen-Orient.
L'occasion pour Camilla de parler de l'intérêt que porte son mari pour l'islam, rapporte des magazines people britanniques. Le prince, qui a commencé à apprendre l'arabe, désirerait se familiariser avec le Coran, aurait déclaré son épouse.
Selon la presse, cette déclaration a surtout pour but d'attirer l'attention sur elle et son couple au détriment de Kate Middleton, dont la grossesse fait les belles heures des paparazzis. Cette dernière, très attachée au christianisme, n'aurait d'ailleurs pas appréciée et considérerait que Camilla veut encore embarrasser la famille royale.
Il faut dire que ses propos alimentent une nouvelle fois la rumeur autour d'une probable conversion du prince héritier à l'islam alors que son statut ne l'y autorise pas car la famille royale dirige l'Eglise anglicane. Toutefois, son intérêt pour l'islam perdure visiblement.
Après une visite en Jordanie puis au Qatar, le couple est arrivé, vendredi 15 mars, en Arabie Saoudite, non sans controverse, deux jours après l'exécution de sept jeunes hommes condamnés à mort. » | Rédigé par La Rédaction | lundi 18 mars 2013
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The head of Colorado’s Department of Corrections was fatally shot Tuesday night as he opened the front door of his home, the authorities said, hours before Gov. John W. Hickenlooper was scheduled to sign into law a series of restrictive gun control measures.
The department’s executive director, Tom Clements, 58, lived with his family in Monument, near Colorado Springs in central Colorado, the authorities said. The police have not identified a suspect. » | Timothy Williams | Wednesday, March 20, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A vicar has spoken of his shock after intruders broke into his church and set fire to the Bibles.
None of the church's valuable items were taken during the break-in, but a stained glass window was smashed using a vase from the graveyard and Bibles and hymn books were burned.
Rev Goronwy Evans, minister at the church for 46 years, believes that they burned the holy books in an “abysmal” attempt to set the church on fire.
"In this day and age break-ins are a part of life, but it was shocking to see what they had done," he said.
The scene was discovered by a woman who was bringing flowers to her mother's grave in the churchyard at Brondeifi Unitarian Chapel, in Lampeter, Ceredigion, south west Wales. » | Hayley Dixon | Wednesday, March 20, 2013
CNN: Jerusalem -- U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Israel on Wednesday as concerns about Iran's nuclear progress percolate. The trip, his first to the country as president, is part of his sweep across the Middle East, which will include visits to the West Bank and Jordan. » | CNN Staff | Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Cyprus turned to Russia for help on Tuesday night after the country's parliament overwhelmingly rejected a tax on the deposits of bank savers.
With protesters celebrating in the streets, the rejection of a draconian levy left a planned £8.5 billion eurozone bail-out to save the Mediterranean island in chaos.
The country's finance minister defied explicit warnings from Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and left Cyprus for urgent talks in Russia.
Michael Sarris flew to Moscow to plead for aid, despite Mrs Merkel warning Cyprus not to enter into negotiations with Russia, raising the spectre of eurozone disintegration.
"The chancellor once again emphasised that the negotiations are to be conducted only with the troika (the European Union, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund)," said her spokesman.
Not a single Cypriot MP voted in favour of a eurozone rescue package that had been made conditional by Germany on the Cypriot government finding £5 billion to pay off its debts by raiding bank deposits, including the savings of up to 60,000 Britons.
Under the original eurozone deal at the weekend, Cyprus agreed to impose a levy of 6.75 per cent on bank accounts up to €100,000 (£85,000) and 9.9 per cent for larger deposits.
Despite a compromise proposal not to tax any bank deposit less than €20,000 (£17,000), the country's 36 MPs rejected a deposit tax that has rattled financial markets and threatened the island's future as an offshore banking haven for Russian investors, with 19 MPs abstaining from the vote.
"There can only be one answer: no to blackmail," Yiannakis Omirou, the speaker of the Cypriot parliament said. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels, Richard Spencer in Nicosia and Robert Tait in Limassol | Tuesday, March 19, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Residents of an area that has been reportedly targeted with chemical weapons in Syria were said to be showing symptoms including breathing difficulties in an incident that could cross US "red lines" on intervention in the conflict.
Britain said on Tuesday it was aware of media reports about a chemical weapons attack in Syria, adding that the use or proliferation of chemical weapons there would demand a serious response from the international community.
Syria’s regime accused rebel fighters of firing a chemical weapon at a town in the country’s north, hours after the opposition had chosen a prime minister to oversee areas freed from government control.
But a spokesman for Syria's rebel command said the regime had fired Scud missile equipped with a chemical warhead on the area.
The official newsagency, Sana, said the attack had occurred in Khan al-Assal, near Aleppo, killing 25 people. Syria has one of the world’s largest stockpiles of chemical weapons and both sides have made claim and counter-claim about use of the weapons. » | Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Tuesday, March 19, 2013
GATESTONE INSTITUTE: Islamic Sharia law is "incompatible with the fundamental principles of democracy." — European Court of Human Rights
After members of the newly established Islam Party vowed to implement Islamic Sharia law in Belgium, Members of Parliament introduced a bill that would limit the power of Muslim extremists who win elected office at the local or national levels and isolate themselves from the political mainstream.
Addressing the Belgian Parliament on February 28, Alain Destexhe, an MP with the Reformist Movement[Mouvement Réformateur], the largest French-speaking classical liberal party in Belgium, and Philippe Pivin, a liberal MP who is also the deputy mayor of Koekelberg, a suburb of Brussels, said it is imperative to curb the power of elected Muslims whose beliefs are inconsistent with the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights ruled in February 2003 that Islamic Sharia law is "incompatible with the fundamental principles of democracy." The court said that a legal system based on Sharia law "would diverge from the European Convention on Human Rights, particularly with regard to the rules on the status of women, and its intervention in all spheres of private and public life in accordance with religious precepts."
The legislative proposal, which is currently open for signatures by other Members of the Belgian Parliament, argues that ultra-conservative Muslims who are elected to public office are unsuitable to run local governments or community bodies and should be impeached.
Destexhe said that as Muslim politicians in Belgium are creating isolated communities and parallel societies, the measure is necessary. He said: "The people of the Islam Party refuse to shake hands with women. They do not want to mix with others in public transport and other communal places. They advocate getting married and wearing a veil at 12 years old, based on Islamic law."
Destexhe continued: "Members of the Islam Party have refused to shake hands with Françoise Schepmans, the mayor of Molenbeek [a primarily Muslim neighborhood in Brussels]. I feel that some people do not understand how similar this is to the behavior of the extreme right, and how they are creating their own isolated community." » | Soeren Kern | Tuesday, March 19, 2013
BBC: On the day of the inauguration of Pope Francis, the Catholic theologian, Professor Hans Ku[e]ng tells Today presenter John Humphrys about the challenges facing the new pontiff.
Prof Ku[e]ng explained that recent and historical sex abuse scandals have severely damaged the church, which also faces the challenge of evangelical churches in South America, which many former Catholics are now joining.
"We need a Pope who is not for riches, pomp and splendour. We need a church of transparent financial policies. A modest church."
He added that many people have left the Catholic Church because [:] "the liturgy is boring and the clergy are dominating." BBC audio » | Tuesday, March 19, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Bank runs and financial panic could spread across Europe after Cyprus proposed raiding people's savings for a new bail-out, Alistair Darling has said.
The former Chancellor said Cyprus is doing "everything you should not do" after the tiny country decided to seize around 6.75 per cent from smaller deposits and almost 10 per cent from larger ones.
The country is currently deciding whether to make richer savers pay a bigger proportion of the bill but Mr Darling said the whole idea of taking money from ordinary savers is dangerous.
He said EU should not be letting Cyprus "blow apart" the principle of protecting deposits under €100,000, as people will start pulling their cash out of banks if they fear this elsewhere.
"It seems to me to make it more likely that if you’re a saver in Spain or Italy, if you have a sniff of the EU or the IMF coming your way you’ll take your money out and you’ll get a run on the bank," he told BBC Radio Four's Today programme.
"So what they’re doing is everything you should not do when you’re trying to solve a problem like this." » | Rowena Mason, Political Correspondent | Tuesday, March 19, 2013
THE GUARDIAN: Binyamin Netanyahu vows to guarantee future of Jewish people as Israel, prepares for Barack Obama's first visit as president
The new Israeli government will use Barack Obama's visit to Jerusalem this week as an opportunity "to show our gratitude to the American people", said Binyamin Netanyahu before being sworn in for a third term as prime minister on Monday.
"Obama's visit will be an opportunity to thank him," Netanyahu said after warning that Israel faced "enormous threats" in the region and pledging to "guarantee the future of the Jewish people by guaranteeing the future of the state of Israel, the root of our existence".
The government was sworn in almost eight weeks after the election on 22 January, and just two days before Obama is due to arrive in Israel for his first visit as president. » | Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem | Monday, March 18, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Britain’s new press regulations were roundly condemned across the world this morning as a threat to free speech.
The new rules left American commentators “horrified and shocked” at what they considered to be a “crazy idea”.
They said that the “shameful compromise” would never be allowed in the USA because it breaches the First Amendment[.]
The Kremlin-funded broadcaster Russia Today described the guidelines as a “threat to press freedom”.
The reaction came after the cross-party agreement was attacked by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the international body that polices human rights.
Britain, with its long running democracy, is often held up as a beacon of liberty.
But the changes in the law have left many dismayed. » | Richard Alleyne | Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE: In der Euro-Krise ist die Angst wieder da: Die internationalen Gläubiger haben Zypern eine Zwangssteuer auf Sparguthaben verordnet. Investoren und Politiker fürchten Auswirkungen auf Banken in ganz Europa.
Hamburg - Ein Schock geht durch Europas Finanzsystem - ausgelöst vonZypern, einem kleinen Staat am Rande der Währungsunion. Erstmals in der Geschichte der Euro- und Finanzkrise sollen nicht mehr nur die europäischen Steuerzahler, Aktionäre oder private Gläubiger für die Probleme eines Landes und seiner Banken zahlen, sondern die Bankkunden. Sie sollen über eine einmalige Steuer an den Kosten der Rettung beteiligt werden. Das gab es so noch nie.
Entsprechend heftig sind die Reaktionen an den Finanzmärkten: In ganz Europa brachen am Montag die Kurse von Bankaktien ein. Zu den größten Verlierern gehörten Institute von Krisenländern wie die spanische Bankia, die zweitweise um mehr als acht Prozent abstürzte. Aber auch die Aktie der Deutschen Bank verlor zwischenzeitlich fast vier Prozent. Investoren flüchteten in vermeintlich sicherere Anlagen wie deutsche Staatsanleihen oder Gold .
Auch Experten sind schockiert. Der amerikanische Nobelpreisträger Paul Krugman spricht von einer "gefährlichen Lösung" und warnt vor "Ansteckungsgefahren". Die Sparer in Ländern wie Griechenland und Italien würden geradezu aufgefordert, ihr Geld von den Banken abzuziehen. Der deutsche Wirtschaftsweise Peter Bofinger schlägt im Interview mit SPIEGEL ONLINE Alarm: "Europas Bürger müssen nun um ihr Geld fürchten." » | Von Stefan Kaiser | Montag, 18. März 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron and the Queen will not be joining dozens of world leaders heading to the Vatican for the inauguration of the new Pope Francis.
The Duke of Gloucester will be the highest ranking member of the royal family to attend on Tuesday. The Prime Minister is sending two cabinet ministers, Baroness Warsi and Ken Clarke, in his place.
It comes just days after it emerged that the new Argentine pope once described the British as "usurpers" of the Falklands Islands.
Downing Street sources said the Prime Minister's decision not to go does not have any relation to the Falklands issue as other high-ranking officials are taking his place.
Another Number 10 official insisted sending the Duke of Gloucester and two ministers is "not a snub" but declined to give a reason why Mr Cameron will not be attending.
"The Government is being represented by senior Cabinet members," he said.
It is understood Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, will be at the ceremony, along with the French and Spanish prime ministers. The United States will be represented by Joe Biden, the Vice President, who said Barack Obama would have attended if he had not had a prior commitment to go to Israel.
Last week, Mr Cameron publicly clashed with the new Pope over Argentina's claim of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
Pope Francis, who is a former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, has previously described the disputed territory as belonging to “the homeland” of Argentina. » | Rowena Mason, and Nick Squires in Rome | Monday, March 18, 2013
This new landmark documentary paints an in-depth portrait of Queen Elizabeth II during one of the most momentous years of her reign. The first feature length royal documentary in more than 20 years, Our Queen features unique access during the Diamond Jubilee year to members of the Royal Family, to Her Majesty's staff - some talking for the first time - to her Prime Ministers and to her residences. Made by the award-winning producer-director, Michael Waldman, and the best-selling royal author and writer, Robert Hardman, for Oxford Film and Television, the documentary follows the Jubilee from the inside. It also explores the modern Monarchy, delivering an insight into the way the world's most famous woman leads the world's best-known royal house, how she balances tradition with modernisation, and how her level of public affection is maintained amid the ever-changing political and social landscape of her reign.
Filmed throughout 2012, this observational two-hour documentary is a study of leadership, judgement and character, set against the spectacular pageantry of the Diamond Jubilee year, which sets out to provide a close perspective of Our Queen and what she means to Britain and the world.
Professor Richard Dawkins debates devout muslim Medhi Hassan about his firm belief in flying horses (Al -Buraq)
Sahih Bukhari 5:58:227 "...Then a white animal which was smaller than a mule and bigger than a donkey was brought to me." ... "The animal's step (was so wide that it) reached the farthest point within the reach of the animal's sight. ..."
MAIL ONLINE: The Syed Shah Mustafa Jame Masjid mosque was too small to fit everyone in / Church minister Rev Isaac Poobalan saw worshippers praying outside / Now he has handed over part of St John's Episcopal Church in Aberdeen / Bishop says: 'It would be good to think we can change the world'
A Scottish church has become the first in the UK to share its premises with Muslim worshippers.
St John’s Episcopal Church in Aberdeen now welcomes hundreds of Muslims praying five times a day in their building as the nearby mosque was so small that they were forced to worship outside.
The minister of St John's, Rev Isaac Poobalan, has handed over part of the church hall to Chief Imam Ahmed Megharbi and the imam has led prayers in the main chapel.
Rev Poobalan said today that he would not be true to his faith if he did not offer to help.
He said: 'Praying is never wrong. My job is to encourage people to pray.
'The mosque was so full at times, there would be people outside in the wind and rain praying.
'I knew I couldn’t just let this happen - because I would be abandoning what the Bible teaches us about how we should treat our neighbours. » | Helen Lawson | Monday, March 18, 2013
THE NEW YORK TIMES – THE CAUCUS (BLOG): Hillary Clinton Endorses Same-Sex Marriage: Saying that “gay rights are human rights,’’ Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former secretary of state and potential 2016 presidential candidate, has endorsed same-sex marriage. » | Sheryl Gay Stolberg | Monday, March 18, 2013
DIE PRESSE: Austro-Islamist: Drohvideo beschäftigt Ermittler – Verfassungsschutz wird im Fall von Mohamed Mahmoud aktiv. Die Staatsbürgerschaft verliert er auch nach Verbrennen seines Passes nicht. » | Philipp Aichinger und Helmar Dumbs | Die Presse | Sonntag, 17. März 2013
EXPRESS: Shocking images have shown an Egypt where anarchy rules the streets, as a baying mob stripped, beat and hung two men accused of stealing.
In an extreme case of vigilantism, the two young men - accused of stealing a motorised rickshaw - were attacked by a 3,000- strong mob reportedly chanting "kill, them, kill them!"
Shockingly, amidst the crowd, children can be seen laughing and taking pictures of the dying men.
The lynchings came a week after the attorney general's office encouraged civilians to arrest lawbreakers and hand them over to police.
The worsening security in Egypt, coupled with a police strike, prompted the attorney general's call for citizens' arrests last week.
Egypt's Minister of Justice Ahmed Mekki described the incident as an indication of the state's demise following the 2011 uprising.
The minister condemned the deaths, explaining that residents applied the 'Haraba penalty' of Islamic law. WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT » | Charlotte Meredith | Monday, March 18, 2013
Sunday, March 17, 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Die Zwangsabgabe aufs Ersparte sorgt für massiven Ärger in Zypern. Die Bankkunden sind empört, die politische Mehrheit für die Sondersteuer wackelt. Auch in Deutschland kann sich Kanzlerin Merkel der Unterstützung für die Rettung des Inselstaats nicht sicher sein.
Berlin - Nein, neue Freunde haben Angela Merkel und Wolfgang Schäuble in Zypern nicht gewonnen. Sicher, das krisengeplagte Land wird gerettet, aber zu welchem Preis? Wütend, empört, schockiert - so reagieren die Menschen auf der Mittelmeerinsel, die am Wochenende an den Geldautomaten der Banken ihr Erspartes zu sichern versuchen. Es ist ein Akt der Verzweiflung, denn sie können zwar Bargeld abheben, Transaktionen aber sind nicht mehr möglich. Ein Teil des Geldes ist längst eingefroren.
Mit 6,75 Prozent ihrer Einlagen auf zyprischen Kreditinstituten sollen Bankkunden zur Rettung des taumelnden Euro-Landes beitragen. Wer mehr als 100.000 Euro dort liegen hat, muss sogar 9,9 Prozent abgeben. Die Zwangsabgabe haben die Euro-Partner zur Bedingung für ein zehn Milliarden schweres Hilfspaket gemacht. Vor allem Deutschland drängte darauf - zähneknirschend hat die zyprische Regierung zugestimmt.
Doch das Drama um den Inselstaat ist damit nicht vorbei. Der Unmut über die Sondersteuer ist nicht nur unter den Bankkunden groß, auch eine politische Mehrheit für das entsprechende Eilgesetz ist keineswegs sicher. Präsident Nikos Anastasiades verschob am Sonntag die eigentlich geplante Abstimmung der Abgeordneten um einen Tag auf Montag - offenbar aus Furcht vor einer Ablehnung des Gesetzes. Anastasiades' konservative Partei DISY hat nur 20 der insgesamt 56 Parlamentssitze, der Koalitionspartner DIKO stellt neun Abgeordnete. Nur ein Abweichler könnte für ein Patt im Parlament sorgen. Die Oppositionsparteien haben bereits ihr Nein angekündigt.
Der Aufschub der Abstimmung ist möglich, weil die Banken in Zypern wegen eines Feiertages am Montag geschlossen sind. Die Regierung erwägt aber bereits, die Geldinstitute am Dienstag ebenfalls nicht zu öffnen, sollte das Parlament auch am Montag zu keiner Entscheidung kommen. Andernfalls wird ein Massenansturm empörter Sparer befürchtet, die in Panik ihre Konten leerräumen. » | Von Philipp Wittrock | Sonntag, 17. März 2013
U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) says he cannot imagine a situation where his opposition to same-sex marriage would change, not even if a child of his or another loved one came out as gay.
Boehner's remarks come in response to Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, also of Ohio, who reversed his longtime opposition to marriage equality this week, after announcing that his son Will is gay.
THE SUN: HATE cleric Anjem Choudary has described white Islamic extremist Richard Dart as a “victim” and said his terror plot was an act of “resistance”.
Bearded Dart, 29, is one of three fanatics facing long jail terms for a string of hate crimes.
Last week a court heard how ex-BBC security guard Dart and self-confessed terrorist Imran Mahmood plotted to target Royal Wootton Bassett, Wilts, where people line the streets to welcome home the bodies of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan. » | Andy Crick | Sunday, March 17, 2013
LONDON EVENING STANDARD: Man due for sentence over terrorism: Muslim convert Richard Dart is facing a long prison sentence admitting getting involved in terrorism. ¶ Dart became involved in extremism after converting to Islam. He was featured in a BBC Three documentary made by his stepbrother. ¶ He pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey with Imran Mahmood and Jahangir Alom to engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorism. They plotted to go to Pakistan to train at a terrorist camp and to travel abroad to commit acts of terrorism. » | Friday, March 15, 2013
THE GUARDIAN: Cypriots rush to ATMs before savings are docked as part of a bailout deal agreed in Brussels
Cypriots reacted with shock that turned to panic on Saturday after a 10% one-off levy on savings was forced on them as part of an extraordinary 10bn euro (£8.7bn) bailout agreed in Brussels.
People rushed to banks and queued at cash machines that refused to release cash as resentment quickly set in. The savers, half of whom are thought to be non-resident Russians, will raise almost €6bn thanks to a deal reached by European partners and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It is the first time a bailout has included such a measure and Cyprus is the fifth country after Greece, the Republic of Ireland, Portugal and Spain to turn to the eurozone for financial help during the region's debt crisis. The move in the eurozone's third smallest economy could have repercussions for financially overstretched bigger economies such as Spain and Italy.
People with less than 100,000 euros in their accounts will have to pay a one-time tax of 6.75%, Eurozone officials said, while those with greater sums will lose 9.9%. Without a rescue, president Nicos Anastasiades said Cyprus would default and threaten to unravel investor confidence in the eurozone. The Cypriot leader, who was elected last month on a promise to tackle the country's debt crisis, will make a statement to the nation on Sunday.
The prospect of savings being so savagely docked sparked terror among the island's resident British community. At the Anglican Church's weekly Saturday thrift shop gathering in Nicosia, Cyprus's war-divided capital, ex-pats expressed alarm with many saying that they had also rushed to ATMs to withdraw money from their accounts. "There's a run on banks. A lot of us are really panicking. The big fear is that there soon won't be cash in ATMs," said Arlene Skillett, a resident in Nicosia. "People are worried that they're automatically going to lose ten present [sic] [of their savings] in deposit accounts. Anastasiades won elections saying he wouldn't allow this to happen." » | Paul Gallagher and Helena Smith | Saturday, March 16, 2013
THE INDEPENDENT: Two directors are undertaking the delicate task of making films about the Prophet of Islam
There are controversial subjects, and then there is Mohamed. Yet the fear of controversy appears not to have deterred film-makers in Iran and Qatar, who are producing a pair of rival biopics of the seventh-century Prophet of Islam.
As a protagonist, the Prophet poses a unique challenge: much of the Muslim world forbids his depiction on screen. The Iranian director Majid Majidi, whose $30m (£19.8m) biopic began shooting last October, reportedly intends to show parts of the Prophet's body, though not his face. While Iran's Shia population may be flexible about such imagery, Sunni Muslims elsewhere are not. Cairo's Sunni-led al-Azhar University has already demanded the unfinished film be banned.
In December, in Sunni-majority Qatar, Alnoor Holdings, the media arm of al-Hashemi construction group, announced plans to spend $1bn on its own series of epic movies about the life of Mohamed. The team has hired the Islamic theologian Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Lord of the Rings producer Barrie Osborne as technical advisers. "They are being understandably very cautious," Mr Osborne told The Hollywood Reporter.
And so they should be. Last September, when clips from a low-budget US-made film about Mohamed surfaced on YouTube, there were angry protests across the Muslim world. Innocence of Muslims portrayed the Prophet in a negative light, yet even positive depictions have proved divisive. In 1977, the Syrian-American producer Moustapha Akkad was forced to go to the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to gather funding for his Mohamed biopic The Message, after Americans backed away from the project. » | Tim Walker | Sunday, March 17, 2013
THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: State-owned Qatar Investment Authority reportedly planning a takeover bid / Trading soared on Thursday and Friday amid rumours of a move on M&S / Iconic High Street chain reported a 1.8 per cent slump in Christmas sales
Marks and Spencer is bracing itself for an £8billion takeover bid from Qatar, according to reports.
The state-owned Qatar Investment Authority is reportedly planning to make a move on the iconic High Street chain and is forming a consortium.
The Gulf nation's sovereign wealth fund already owns Harrods, which it bought in 2010, and has a 26 per cent share in Sainsbury's.
It also has a stake in Heathrow Airport.
The bid would equate to £5 a share and rumours in the City on Thursday and Friday helped fuel soaring trade.
The Qataris are attempting to form a consortium and have approached private equity houses and banks, according to 'senior City sources' quoted by The Sunday Times. » | Becky Evans | Sunday, March 17, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: In a rare interview, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal tells Christian Sylt about his anger over the Forbes Rich List, which estimated that he is worth $20bn – $9.6bn less than he claims and not enough to place him in the coveted top 10.
There is something about the world’s wealthiest people and it tends to show.
An army of waiters swarmed around hotelier Sir Rocco Forte when I interviewed him in the Grill at London’s Savoy hotel. Bernie Ecclestone prefers to meet journalists in his personal playground, the Formula One paddock, whilst Guy Laliberté, billionaire founder of circus company, Cirque du Soleil, chooses his penthouse suite which sits atop the Metropolitan hotel and has floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over Hyde Park. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal outdoes them all.
Prince Alwaleed is the 58-year-old grandson of the founder of Saudi Arabia but not one drop of his fortune comes from oil or inheritance. Instead, he made his money by investing in global brands at a time when their share prices were depressed. Along the way he has built up significant stakes in trophy assets such as Apple, Citigroup, Disney and the Savoy Hotel in London. His portfolio spans the globe and he likes people to know it.
When I first interviewed Prince Alwaleed in 2002 we met on his glitzy 282-ft yacht which was moored off the coast of Cannes. He bought it from Donald Trump in 1991 and the two are kindred spirits.
On board there is a room containing a long golden table laden with magazines showing Prince Alwaleed on their covers. On another occasion, the interview took place at the historic George V hotel in Paris, which Alwaleed rescued in 1996. We met in a reception area lined with 17th century tapestries and armed bodyguards.
Given his penchant for displays of grandeur it is not hard to imagine how he must have felt when, two weeks ago, Forbes, the business magazine, published its annual ranking of the world’s billionaires. It estimated that Prince Alwaleed is worth $20bn – which is $9.6bn less than he claims and not enough to place him in the coveted top 10. » | Christian Sylt | Saturday, March 16, 2013
SAPHIR NEWS: Depuis l'élection du nouveau pape mercredi 13 mars, les organisations musulmanes ont été nombreuses à réagir pour féliciter le monde catholique. Par-delà ces félicitations, toutes en appellent le souverain pontife François à un renouveau du dialogue islamo-chrétien, mis à mal sous le pontificat de Benoît XVI.
Le cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio est devenu pape François mercredi 13 mars.
Au lendemain de cette nouvelle d'importance pour le monde catholique, le Conseil français du culte musulman (CFCM) et la Grande Mosquée de Paris ont tous deux salué l’élection du pape et adressent leurs vœux à ses fidèles, avec l'espoir affiché que ce nouveau pontificat renforce le dialogue islamo-chrétien.
Le CFCM « adresse à sa Sainteté le pape François, ses chaleureuses félicitations et ses sincères vœux de réussite dans la mission qui lui a été confiée à la tête de l’Eglise catholique romaine », déclare son président Mohammed Moussaoui dans un communiqué au lendemain de l’élection.
« Le CFCM espère que ce nouveau pontificat soit l’occasion de renforcer et de consolider le dialogue entre toutes les religions et toutes les convictions au service de la justice, de la paix, de la solidarité et de la fraternité dans le monde », poursuit-il.
Même ton dans le communiqué de la Grande Mosquée de Paris. « A l’heureuse annonce pour les catholiques "Habemus papam", les musulmans de France posent la question "Qualem papam habemus ?", en espérant que la symbolique du nom de François qu’il s’est choisi puisse le rattacher spirituellement à Saint-François d’Assises qui, au début du 13ème siècle, a volontairement initié le premier dialogue islamo-chrétien de l’histoire », fait savoir l’institution. » | Rédigé par La Rédaction | jeudi 14 mars 2013
SAPHIR NEWS: Après l’Allemagne et la Suisse, c’est au tour de la Norvège d’être éclaboussée par un scandale alimentaire de taille pour les musulmans.
Dans le cadre de contrôles effectués après le scandale de la viande de cheval retrouvée dans des plats préparés supposés être au bœuf, le Mattilsyn, l’autorité national de contrôle alimentaire, dit avoir détecté du porc, dans une proportion comprise entre 5 et 30 % dans de la viande « halal » commercialisée auprès des vendeurs de kebabs, rapporte l'AFP. » | Rédigé par La Rédaction | vendredi 15 mars 2013
THE NORTHERN STAR: A WOMAN said she was terrified after she was spat on and called a terrorist at a Murwillumbah service station this week.
The practicing Muslim, who requested to remain anonymous, said she was fuelling her car up when a hostile man pulled up and began to scream abuse at her on Wednesday.
"A man got out (of the car) ... He came towards the bowser and I wasn't sure if he was going to head butt me or punch me, or pour petrol on me and light me up," she said.
"But I knew there was going to be trouble."
She said the man approached her and started to call her a "terrorist" and told her to "go back to where you f***ing came from."
The Tweed Coast resident couldn't believe the man was treating her in such a way and believed it was because she was wearing a traditional Islamic face cover known as a niqab.
"(He was) calling me a terrorist when he was terrorising me," she recalled.
"Calling me oppressed yet he was oppressing me."
"He was loud and he was screeching." » | Emma Galliott | Saturday, March 16, 2013
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