Russian Foreign Minister Criticises West for Supporting Ukraine Protests

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, has criticised Western leaders for supporting the opposition in Ukraine

The Russian foreign minister has strongly criticised the West for backing Ukraine's protesters, accusing European and American leaders of inciting "increasingly violent" protests.

Sergei Lavrov said that Western support was causing an escalation in the demonstrations, which first started two months ago when President Victor Yanukovych failed to sign an agreement to deepen ties with the European Union – preferring to forge stronger links with Russia.

"Why is no one condemning those who seize administration buildings, attack policemen and chant racist and anti-Semitic slogans?" said Mr Lavrov.

"Why are prominent European politicians actually encouraging the moves in question, although in their own countries they immediately clamp down on those any encroachments on the letter of the law?"

Speaking at the three-day Munich Security Conference, which began on Friday, Mr Lavrov likened the West's support for protesters in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev to Russia supporting demonstrations in a European capital. » | Harriet Alexander | Saturday, February 01, 2014

Inside 'Billionaires Row': London's Rotting, Derelict Mansions Worth £350m

THE GUARDIAN: The North London street where billionaires can buy homes, never live in them, let them rot and still make millions


A third of the mansions on the most expensive stretch of London's "Billionaires Row" are standing empty, including several huge houses that have fallen into ruin after standing almost completely vacant for a quarter of a century.

A Guardian investigation has revealed there are an estimated £350m worth of vacant properties on the most prestigious stretch of The Bishops Avenue in north London, which last year was ranked as the second most expensive street in Britain.

One property owner, the developer Anil Varma, has complained that the address has become "one of the most expensive wastelands in the world". At least 120 bedrooms are empty in the vacant properties.

The empty buildings include a row of 10 mansions worth £73m which have stood largely unused since they were bought between 1989 and 1993, it is believed on behalf of members of the Saudi royal family.

Exclusive access to now derelict properties has revealed that their condition is so poor in some cases that water streams down ballroom walls, ferns grow out of floors strewn with rubble from collapsed ceilings, and pigeon and owl skeletons lie scattered across rotting carpets.

Yet, despite the properties falling into serious disrepair, it is likely that the Saudi owners of the portfolio made a significant profit from the £73m sale. The records available show that one of the mansions was worth only £1.125m in 1988.

The avenue, close to exclusive Highgate and Hampstead, is home to Richard Desmond, owner of Express Newspapers and Channel 5, members of the Saudi royal family, and Poju Zabludowicz, a billionaire art collector and philanthropist. » | Robert Booth | Friday, January 31, 2014

Uganda Archbishop Responds to Welby on Anti-gay Laws

BBC: The head of the Anglican Church in Uganda has given a critical response to a letter from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York warning that gays and lesbians should not be victimised.

Their letter was sent to all presiding archbishops of the Anglican Communion.

It was also sent to the presidents of Uganda and Nigeria, which have recently introduced anti-gay legislation.

Archbishop Stanley Ntagali responded that "homosexual practice is incompatible with Scripture".

He said he hoped the Church of England would "step back from the path" it had set itself on "so the Church of Uganda will be able to maintain communion with our own Mother Church".

In the letter, Archbishops Justin Welby and John Sentamu said they were responding to questions asked about the Church of England's attitude to laws penalising "people with same-sex attraction".

Homosexuals were loved and valued by God and deserved the "best pastoral care and friendship", they said. » | Friday, January 31, 2014

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Tony Blair Praises Egypt Coup as Military Leader Aims for Presidency

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Despite widespread crackdown on opponents and the media, the former prime minister controversially says interim leadership supports 'open-minded society'

Tony Blair has thrown his weight firmly behind Egypt's new military leadership and urged the international community to do the same, after meetings with the country's interim rulers.

During a flying visit to Cairo on Thursday, the former British prime minister told a Gulf-based television channel that the Muslim Brotherhood, rulers of Egypt until a military coup in July, had "tried to take the country away from its basic values of hope and progress".

"The army have intervened, at the will of the people," he told Sky News Arabia. "In order to take the country to the next stage of its development, which should be democratic, we should be supporting the new government in doing that."

Mr Blair met interim president Adly Mansour and military chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah el Sisi. The field marshall is widely seen as the power behind the presidency, and enjoys widespread public and institutional backing for a run in Egypt's forthcoming presidential elections.

"We should support those people in the region who want the open-minded society and the modern economy. That means we support the government here in Egypt," said Mr Blair. » | Louisa Loveluck, Cairo | Friday, January 31, 2014

The Life of Muhammad: BBC

Judaism: Inside the Torah – National Geographic

The Story of King David and the Jewish (Israelite) people. ¶ A Biblical and Historical Story on how King David conquered Jerusalem and made the Kingdom of Israel for the Jewish people.

Inside Story: Who Decides When It Is Time to Die?

As Quebec debates euthanasia, we ask if people should have a choice over the timing and manner of their death.

Hong Kong Tycoon Rescinds £80 Million Dowry for Lesbian Daughter

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Hong Kong businessman withdraws £80 million 'marriage bounty' for gay daughter after her heartfelt open letter – but refuses to accept partner

A Hong Kong tycoon has withdrawn his £80 million "marriage bounty" to find his lesbian daughter a male suitor after she defended her sexuality in a heartfelt open letter, but emphatically refused to accept her partner into the family.

Gigi Chao asked her father, flamboyant property developer Cecil Chao, in an open letter on Wednesday to treat her partner of nine years as a "normal, dignified human being".

Her plea came after Chao, who refuses to recognise her as a lesbian, last week doubled the "marriage bounty" on his daughter to HK$1 billion (£80 million).

The initial offer of HK$500 million two years ago attracted 20,000 candidates after the outlandish declaration made international headlines.

"If this is what she wants to be for the time being, it's all over," the elder Chao, wearing a bright orange textured coat and dark-tinted sunglasses, told CNN in an interview on Thursday. » | AFP | Friday, January 31, 2014

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The Big Prize on N. Korea’s Black Market

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USA in the 1920s: The Prohibition

Arabie Saoudite : le coronavirus tue à nouveau

SAPHIR NEWS: Le ministère saoudien de la Santé a annoncé, mercredi 29 janvier, la mort d'un homme atteint du coronavirus MERS. Ce Saoudien était âgé de 60 ans et souffrait de plusieurs maladies chroniques, ont précisé les autorités.

Il s’agit du 59e décès en Arabie Saoudite liés à ce virus. D'autres cas ont été enregistrés dans le pays, a ajouté le ministère sans préciser leur nombre. Dans le monde, le royaume est le foyer le plus touché par ce virus nommé Syndrome respiratoire du Moyen-Orient (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, MERS), qui a fait son apparition dans la région en avril 2012. » | Rédigé par La Rédaction | mercredi 29 janvier 2014

ZDF: Die Weimarer Republik

Aus den revolutionären Erschütterungen der unmittelbaren Nachkriegszeit ging das Deutsche Reich als parlamentarische Demokratie hervor. Soziale Not verbitterte und radikalisierte Millionen Menschen. Als eine ebenso große Hypothek für die politische Stabilität erwiesen sich die häufigen Wechsel der Reichsregierungen. Die verbreitete Geringschätzung des Parlamentarismus in der Bevölkerung ließ die Weimarer Republik als "Demokratie ohne Demokraten" erscheinen. In ihren schweren Anfangsjahren wurde die Republik von linken und rechten Extremisten bekämpft. Immer wieder entfachten sie gewaltsame Aufstände. Erst 1924 begann in Deutschland eine Phase relativer Stabilität. Für die Republik war es bis 1929 eine Zeit innenpolitischer Ruhe mit wirtschaftlichem Aufschwung und kultureller Blüte. Die "Goldenen Zwanziger" endeten mit der im Oktober 1929 beginnenden Weltwirtschaftskrise. Armut und Verzweiflung griffen um sich. Mit Erfolg entfesselten die Gegner der Weimarer Republik von rechts und links eine beispiellose Agitation gegen den Staat, der keine Mittel gegen die wirtschaftliche und politische Krise fand.

Hong Kong Tycoon's Daughter Defends Lesbian Relationship

BBC: Gigi Chao, the daughter of a Hong Kong tycoon has urged her father to accept she is a lesbian, after he offered millions to find her a husband.

In a open letter Ms Chao says Cecil Chao should accept her partner and "treat her like a normal, dignified human being".

Ms Chao, 33, who married her long-term partner Sean Eav in France in 2012, also emphasised: "There are plenty of good men, they are just not for me."

Mr Chao last week reportedly offered to double his 2012 offer of $65m (£40m).

She told the BBC she wrote the letter to set the record straight. (+ BBC audio) » | Thursday, January 30, 2014

Archbishops Criticise Nigerian and Ugandan Anti-gay Laws

Archbishop Welby is on a five-day tour of four African countries

BBC: The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have written to the presidents of Nigeria and Uganda, after being asked about laws there penalising gay people.

The letter said homosexual people were loved and valued by God and should not be victimised or diminished.

Nigeria and Uganda have both passed legislation targeting people with same-sex attraction.

The letter is also addressed to all primates (heads of national Churches) in the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Archbishops Justin Welby of Canterbury and John Sentamu of York said the letter was a result of "questions about the Church of England's attitude to new legislation in several countries that penalises people with same-sex attraction".

The letter comes as Archbishop Welby starts a five-day tour of four African countries. » | Thursday, January 30, 2014

'Apocalyptic': Storm Brigid Rages towards UK Bringing 150MPH Killer Winds, Rain and Snow

DAILY EXPRESS: A VIOLENT and destructive storm is hurtling across the Atlantic and will smash into Britain tomorrow.

The entire country faces at least three days of torrential downpours, savage 150mph gales and weeks of relentless flood misery.

Storm Brigid is expected to hit UK shores in the early hours of tomorrow before the full force of the onslaught rips into the country on Saturday. Experts say it threatens to cause destruction on a par with the ferocious October St Jude’s Day Storm and subsequent Storm Emily which hit in December.

It came as figures show some areas of England have already had their wettest January since records began. 

The Met Office said much of the south and Midlands already had twice the average rainfall for January by midnight on Tuesday - with three days still left in the month.

Several inches of rain are likely to fall in a matter of hours through the next few days, sealing the record for England’s wettest winter in history. » | Nathan Rao | Thursday, January 30, 2014

Double Your Dole, Eurocrats Tell UK: Ministers Told Current Handouts Are 'Manifestly Inadequate'

MAIL ONLINE: Eurocrats sparked fury last night by ordering the UK to double dole payments.

The Council of Europe claims the handouts given to Britain’s jobless are ‘manifestly inadequate’.

Ministers have been told they are in violation of the European Social Charter – potentially opening the door for claimants to take the Government to court to get more money.

But ministers say obeying the diktat from the Council, which oversees the controversial European Court of Human Rights, would cost the UK billions of pounds and plunge efforts to reduce the deficit into chaos.

To comply, Jobseeker’s Allow- ance (JSA) would have to be hiked by £71, from £67 to £138 a week.

Last night Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith accused the Council of Europe of ‘lunacy’.

He told the Mail: ‘This Government has made great strides in fixing the bloated welfare system we inherited from Labour. It’s lunacy for the Council of Europe to suggest welfare payments need to increase when we paid out £204billion in benefits and pensions last year.’

The Council said Britain had signed up to the Social Charter, which is ‘a legally binding economic and social counterpart to the European Convention on Human Rights’. » | James Slack and Daniel Martin | Wednesday, January 29, 2014

German Muslims Outraged at Archbishop's Comments

ABC NEWS: Muslims in Germany have criticized comments by a senior Roman Catholic archbishop that suggested they were worth less than Catholics.

Cardinal Joachim Meisner told members of the conservative Catholic group Neocatechumenal Way that "I always say one of your families replaces three Muslim families."

The lay group, founded in Spain in the 1960s, celebrates unique liturgies and emphasizes missionary evangelization. » | AP | Berlin | Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Intel Chief Warns Syria's Militants Want To Attack US

There are chinks of daylight breaking through in Syria peace talks. International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said negotiations between the government and opposition are finally seeing some progress. But at the same time, Washington says it's worried about new threats emerging from Syria, with terrorism being only one of them. The US national intelligence chief warned Damascus is still capable of producing biological weapons - despite the current process of disarmament. RT's Marina Portnaya has the details.

Empire: America and Al-Qaeda 3.0

We examine the resurgence of al-Qaeda in one of the world's most troubled regions and unpick the US' response.

Obama's State Of The Union: Blah-blah Again or Real Promises?

When US President Barack Obama delivered his sixth State of the Union address Tuesday night, those listening at home may have heard variations on a theme that Obama focused on in his fifth address: the US economy and a growing inequality gap.

Angela Merkel Rebukes US and Britain over NSA Surveillance

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Chancellor says Germany and US still 'far apart' on sweeping surveillance and spying activities revealed by Edward Snowden

German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a strong rebuke to the United States and Britain on Wednesday over sweeping surveillance and spying activities reported by fugitive IT contractor Edward Snowden.

In a major speech to parliament ahead of talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday, Merkel said that Western powers sacrificing freedom in the quest for security were sending the wrong signal to "billions of people living in undemocratic states".

"Actions in which the ends justify the means, in which everything that is technically possible is done, violate trust, they sow distrust," she said. "The end result is not more security but less." » | AFP | Wednesday, January 29, 2014

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Regierungserklärung der Kanzlerin: Merkel beklagt Vertrauensbruch durch US-Geheimdienste: Angela Merkel hat die Ausspähung durch ausländische Geheimdienste scharf kritisiert. "Das zerstört Vertrauen", sagte die Kanzlerin in ihrer Regierungserklärung im Bundestag. Gleichwohl gestalteten sich die Verhandlungen über ein No-Spy-Abkommen mit den USA schwierig. » | syd | Mittwoch, 29. Januar 2014

Stakelbeck on Terror: Islam and the Battle For Our Minds

Stakelbeck Talks "Dearbornistan", Bible Prophecy

Trent Franks Agrees Obama May Be A Muslim Or Acting Just Like One

Stakelbeck: Muslims Infiltrating Bible Belt

Stakelbeck Condemns Obama for Defending Right to Build Mosques; Fears Muslim ‘Infiltration’ of the Bible Belt

Political Correctness Exposed! Marxism, Communism, Frankfurt School: End of Freedom

State of the Union: Is Anyone Listening to President Obama?

BBC: On 28 January, President Obama will go before the nation to deliver his annual State of the Union address.

It is a speech that allows the Commander in Chief to outline his priorities for the year ahead and to focus the country's attention.

But this year he faces an uphill battle. With low approval ratings and a divided Congress, what can he actually get done?

The BBC's Katty Kay assesses the mood in Washington. (+ BBC vido) » | Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Exclusive: Mitt Romney Previews the State of the Union

Romney urges the president to find 'common ground' with Republicans

Netanyahu Blasted For Son’s Non-Jewish Girlfriend

ABC NEWS: Conservative Israeli groups and politicians are taking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to task over his son’s alleged romance with a Norwegian who is not Jewish.

Netanyahu’s son Yair, 23, is reportedly dating Sandra Leikanger, 25, a student at the Interdisciplinary Center outside Tel Aviv.

“It’s a big problem,” member of parliament Nissim Ze’ev from the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party told the Jerusalem Post. “As the prime minister of Israel and the Jewish people, he must display national responsibility via the values he presents inside his own household.”

“Any Jew who wants to maintain his roots wants to see his son marry a Jewish girl,” Ze’ev continued. “There is no shortage of beautiful, successful girls without sowing in the fields of others.” » | Alexander Marquardt | Monday, January 27, 2014

Maajid Nawaz Must Be Free to Offend Muslims – and Christians Must Be Free to Offend Gays

Maajid Nawaz

TELEGRAPH BLOGS – BRENDAN O’NEILL: Yesterday, two very striking things happened on the freedom-of-speech front. First, the campaign in defence of Maajid Nawaz, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate who has been harassed by an online mob of Islamists for saying he did not think the Jesus and Mo cartoons were offensive, stepped up a gear. Numerous newspaper columnists, bloggers and tweeters have rallied to Mr Nawaz’s defence, and a petition calling for the Lib Dems to offer him their full support now has close to 7,000 signatures. And second, the High Court in London ordered an investigation into the banning of an allegedly homophobic advert from British buses by Transport for London (TfL) in 2012. The Court said the ban might have been unjust and said it is now time to “re-examine whether… the poster could be used”.

Let me guess: you’ve heard a lot more about the first case, about Mr Nawaz’s travails, than you have about the second – right? Certainly there’s been far more coverage of the liberal online uprising in defence of Mr Nawaz’s right to tweet the secularist, mickey-taking Jesus and Mo cartoons than there has been of the High Court’s green light for an investigation into the banning of an anti-gay poster by TfL. Which is weird, because these cases are actually very similar. In both, an army of offence-takers sought to scrub from public view something they found repulsive – whether a tweet about Jesus and Mo or a poster putting forward a Christian take on homosexuality – and in both it was casually assumed that the rights of the offended should take precedence over the freedom of everyone else to tweet, read, see and hear certain risqué (allegedly) ideas. But only one case – Mr Nawaz’s – has become a cause celebre [sic] among liberals who profess an attachment to freedom of speech. Why? » | Brendan O’Neill | Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Britain's Royal Family Should Cut Costs and Staff, Lawmakers Say

LOS ANGELES TIMES: LONDON – Time was when being queen (or king) meant having the power to make your enemies’ heads roll. Now it means being told by upstart lawmakers to cut your expenses and chop the number of people on staff. And could Your Majesty please do a better job of keeping your home in decent condition?

In a report released Tuesday on the finances of Britain’s royal household, members of Parliament criticized the state of disrepair of much of Queen Elizabeth II’s considerable estate, saying that nearly 40% of it was in subpar condition. The boiler in Buckingham Palace hasn’t been overhauled in 60 years and buckets catch water leaking from the roof inside a gallery where priceless artworks are kept, one lawmaker said.

Yet even as urgent home repairs were needed, the world’s most famous extended family spent $74.5 million in 2012-13, going over budget by $3.8 million. The number of people serving them remains unchanged from several years ago. And the household’s rainy-day reserve fund has dwindled to a decidedly less-than-princely sum of $1.7 million. » | Henry Chu | Tuesday, January 28, 2014

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Wanted: an enthusiastic and proactive individual to run the Queen’s bath: A new housekeeper is wanted at Buckingham Palace to look after royal guests, furnishings and art » | Gordon Raynor, Chief Reporter | Friday, January 24, 2014

DAILY EXPRESS: Boomtime Britain as Buckingham Palace goes on a recruiting spree: FOR those who have ever wondered what it would be like to work in Buckingham Palace, they no longer need to dream about such a job as the royal residence is opening it's doors to new employees. » | Kirsty McCormack | Saturday, January 25, 2014

Iraq and Iran Plot Oil Revolution in Challenge to Saudi Arabia

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iraq's goal of pumping 9m barrels a day of crude could be a game changer for oil prices and British companies

Iraq is poised to flood the oil market by tripling its capacity to pump crude by 2020 and is collaborating with Iran on strategy in a move that will challenge Saudi Arabia's grip on the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

"We feel the world needs to be assured of fuel for economic growth," Hussain al-Shahristani, Deputy Prime Minister for Energy in Iraq told oil industry delegates attending a Chatham House Middle East energy conference.

Al Shahristani said on Tuesday that Iraq plans to boost its capacity to produce oil to 9m barrels a day (bpd) by the end of the decade as Baghdad rushes to bolster its economy, which is still shattered by war and internal conflict. Iraq was producing 3m bpd in December, according to the International Energy Agency.

Iraq's intention to challenge Saudi Arabia's status as the "swing producer" in the OPEC cartel could see a dramatic fall in oil prices if Baghdad decides to break the group's quotas and sell more of its crude on the open market. » | Andrew Critchlow | Tuesday, January 28, 2014

The Return of the Firing Squad? US States Reconsider Execution Methods

THE GUARDIAN: Shortages of lethal drugs and doubts over efficacy prompt lawmakers to take fresh look at long-abandoned practices

With lethal-injection drugs in short supply and new questions looming about their effectiveness, lawmakers in some states with the death penalty are considering bringing back relics of a more gruesome past: firing squads, electrocutions and gas chambers.

Most states abandoned those execution methods more than a generation ago, in the hope of making capital punishment more palatable to the public and to a judicial system worried about inflicting cruel and unusual punishments that violate the constitution.

But to some elected officials, the shortages of lethal drugs and the recent legal challenges around them are beginning to make lethal injection seem too vulnerable to complications.

"This isn't an attempt to time warp back into the 1850s or the wild, wild west or anything like that," said the Missouri state Republican representative, Rick Brattin, who this month proposed making firing squads an option for executions. "It's just that I foresee a problem, and I'm trying to come up with a solution that will be the most humane yet most economical for our state." » | Associated Press | Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Jewish Documentary

Faith and Fate is a documentary telling the story of the Jews in the 20th Century.

What Does it Really Mean to be Jewish?

Is Anti-semitism Rising in Germany?

BBC: Monday is International Holocaust Remembrance Day and ceremonies will be held to remember the victims of the Nazi holocaust during World War II.

Six million Jews, two million Roma and thousands of other people were killed in Nazi death camps.

Now there are fears that anti-semitism is on the rise - a recent survey of 6,000 Jewish people found that a third have faced physical or verbal abuse.

Stephen Evans reports from Berlin. (+ BBC video) » | Monday, January 27, 2014

Forgive or Forget: Survivors of Genocide in the Holocaust, Rwanda and Cambodia Describe Their Experiences

Watch the harrowing testimonies of Freddie Knoller, Sophie Masereka and Sokphal Din, who lived through mass killings during the second world war, the Rwandan genocide and the Cambodian Killing Fields. The three work closely with the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust charity to raise awareness of genocide in the hope that others will be spared similar horrors

Holocaust Survivor Miriam Reitzenstein’s Testimony

This testimony from Jewish Survivor Miriam Reitzenstein is from the archive of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute. She is a member of The "1939" Club.

Holocaust Survivor And Her Amazing Story

Etta Katz is my step-grandma. She is a holocaust survivor. She persevered from two notorious concentration camps: Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. This feature covers her life pre, during and post-war. There's an entire generation of survivors that will be extinct in the next decade or so. Before we know it, video interviews will be the only medium to watch, listen, learn and share this tragic, but inspiring story.

Please Meet is a short video documentary series. The concept of this series is to interview unique individuals that inspire thought, creativity, action, etc. The influencers who are interviewed range from celebrities to a guy selling Streetwise in the freezing cold in Chicago. Everyone has a story, a dream and I want to share their stories with you through my lens.

Remembering the Six Million: Jews around World Mark International Holocaust Memorial Day

Jews around the world are marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It was on 27 January 1945 that the Soviet Union's Red Army liberated the Auschwitz death camp in Poland, where over a million Jews and other minorities perished in World War Two.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day: Holocaust Survivor Recalls Horrors of Nazi Camp Ordeal

As the world marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day, one survivor has been speaking about her ordeal of living in a Nazi concentration camp. Rina Quint, born in central Poland, was just four years old when World War Two broke out in 1939. She recalls the moment she entered the Bergen-Belsen camp in north-western Germany.

Himmler Letters: 'I Am Travelling to Auschwitz. Kisses. Your Heini'

Himmler with his daughter, Gudrun

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Newly discovered collection of letters, notes and photographs from Heinrich Himmler shed light on private life of man who organised the Holocaust

A collection of letters, notes and photographs from Heinrich Himmler are to be published in full on Sunday, shedding light on the private life of the man who orchestrated the Holocaust.

Spanning from Himmler’s courtship of his future wife in 1927 to just a few weeks before he committed suicide in 1945, the archive published by Die Welt promises to be an unprecedented insight to the domestic relationship of the Nazi high command.

Personal archives relating to Adolf Hitler, Hermann Goerring and Joseph Goebbels have all been destroyed either by close aides or in the final onslaught on Berlin.

In excerpts released by the German newspaper on Saturday night, some exchanges between Himmler and his wife Marga contain a chilling informality.

In a July 1942 note to his wife, he wrote: “I am travelling to Auschwitz. Kisses. Your Heini.” » | Damien McElroy and Inna Lazareva | Sunday, January 26, 2014

DIE WELT: Kapitel 1: Himmler: Die Handschrift des Massenmörders » | Sonntag, 26. Januar 2014

YNET NEWS: Himmler's letters revealed: 'I'm going to Auschwitz. Kisses': Private correspondence of architect of Final Solution shows how top Nazi was willing to shoot his own mother if Hitler asked, but despite mass murder surrounding him family life was indispensable‬‬ » | Yehuda Shohat and Elad Zeret | Sunday, January 26, 2014

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Religious Difference, Not Ideology, Will Fuel This Century's Epic Battles

THE OBSERVER: We must encourage education and tolerance if we are to bring about peace in the Middle East and the rest of the world

The last weeks have seen a ghastly roll call of terror attacks in the obvious places: Syria, Libya, Iraq and Lebanon, as well as Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia and Pakistan. Also suffering are places where we have only in recent years seen such violence: Nigeria, and in many parts of central Africa, in Russia and across central Asia, and in Burma, Thailand and the Philippines. We can either see all of these acts of killing as separate – produced by various political contexts – or we can start to see the clear common theme and start to produce a genuine global strategy to deal with it.

The fact is that, though of course there are individual grievances or reasons for the violence in each country, there is one thing self-evidently in common: the acts of terrorism are perpetrated by people motivated by an abuse of religion. It is a perversion of faith. But there is no doubt that those who commit the violence often do so by reference to their faith and the sectarian nature of the conflict is a sectarianism based on religion. There is no doubt either that this phenomenon is growing, not abating.

We have to be prepared to take the security measures necessary for our immediate protection. Since 9/11, the cost of those measures, and their burden, has been huge. However, security action alone, even military action, will not deal with the root cause. This extremism comes from a source. It is not innate. It is taught. It is taught sometimes in the formal education system; sometimes in the informal religious schools; sometimes in places of worship and it is promoted by a vast network of internet communications.

Technology, so much the harbinger of opportunity, can also be used by those who want to disseminate lessons of hate and division. Today's world is connected as never before. This has seen enormous advances. It means there is a kind of global conversation being conducted. This is exciting and often liberating. But it comes with the inevitable ability for those who want to get across a message that is extreme to do so. This has to be countered. » | Tony Blair | Saturday, January 25, 2014

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Extremist Religion Is at Root of 21st-century Wars, Says Tony Blair

THE OBSERVER: Former prime minister will reignite debate on Iraq as he calls on governments to switch tactics

Tony Blair has reignited debate about the west's response to terrorism with a call on governments to recognise that religious extremism has become the biggest source of conflict around the world.

Referring to wars and violent confrontations from Syria to Nigeria and the Philippines, Blair, writing in the Observer, argues that "there is one thing self-evidently in common: the acts of terrorism are perpetrated by people motivated by an abuse of religion. It is a perversion of faith."

Identifying religious extremism as an ever more dangerous phenomenon, the spread of which is easier in an online age, he says: "The battles of this century are less likely to be the product of extreme political ideology, like those of the 20th century – but they could easily be fought around the questions of cultural or religious difference."

The former prime minister, who led the country into the Iraq conflict in 2003, appears to acknowledge that previous aspirations to export liberal democracy focused too much on political objectives.

But sources close to Blair insist that he is not in any way indulging in a mea culpa over past interventions by the west, including in Iraq. In the future, he writes, "the purpose should be to change the policy of governments; to start to treat this issue of religious extremism as an issue that is about religion as well as politics, to go to the roots of where a false view of religion is being promulgated and to make it a major item on the agenda of world leaders to combine effectively to combat it. This is a struggle that is only just beginning." » | Toby Helm, political editor | Saturday, January 25, 2014

François Hollande officialise sa rupture avec Valérie Trierweiler

LE PARISIEN: Voilà, c'est fini. François Hollande et Valérie Trierweiler ont acté leur séparation. Le chef de l'Etat a annoncé ce samedi soir «la fin de sa vie commune» avec sa compagne, dans une déclaration à l'AFP. Précisant qu'il s'exprimait à titre personnel et non en tant que président, car il s'agit de «(sa) vie privée», il a déclaré : «Je fais savoir que j'ai mis fin à la vie commune que je partageais avec Valérie Trierweiler.»

Selon nos informations, la première dame ne voulait pas signer de communiqué commun. «Il l'a consultée et mise au courant, elle accepte la situation de fait, mais elle lui laisse l'inititative de son acte», explique son entourage au «Parisien».

Valérie Trierweiler a quitté la Lanterne, la résidence de Versailles où elle se reposait depuis une semaine après son hospitalisation, pour réintégrer l'appartement du couple, rue Cauchy dans le XVe arrondissement de Paris. La journaliste s'y est rendu ce samedi après-midi, selon nos informations. C'est donc en simple citoyenne qu'elle va effectuer son voyage à Bombay (Inde) où elle s'envolera dimanche, en faveur de l'association Action contre la faim (ACF). » | Par Frédéric Gerschel | samedi 25 janvier 2014

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: It’s official: François Hollande and Valérie Trierweiler announce separation: President François Hollande tells French news agency he has separated from Valérie Trierweiler on eve of her planned charity trip to India » | David Cjazan, Paris | Saturday, January 25, 2014

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Hollande-Liebesaffäre: Au revoir, mon amour: Frankreichs Staatschef François Hollande und seine Lebensgefährtin trennen sich. Mit der offiziellen Ankündigung geht die mediale Telenovela um die mutmaßliche Präsidentenaffäre zu Ende. Zumindest vorläufig. » | Von Stefan Simons, Paris | Samstag, 25. Januar 2014

Who Is the Real Barack Obama?

This is an extraordinary fact based expose of the fairy tale story "sold" to the American public about Barack Obama and those who have surrounded and influenced him since childhood. Do you know ANYONE who believes the things Obama believes or would do the things Obama has done? What is most disturbing is the extent to which the mainstream media has been complicit in keeping these facts from the American public.