CNN: Venezuela tells CNN journalists to ;get out’ » | CNN Staff | Friday, February 21, 2014
Friday, February 21, 2014
Faith Change: Islam Rapidly Grows as Christianity Declines in UK
Muslims Demand "Right of Return" to Spain
"Is Spain aware of what might be assumed when it makes peace with some but not with others? Is Spain aware of what this decision [not to include Muslims in the return] could cost?... Does Spain have alternatives to the foreign investment from Muslims?" — Ahmed Bensalh, Morisco-Moroccan journalist.
"Persecution of Jews was just that, while what happened with the Arabs was part of a conflict. There is no basis for comparison." — Jose Ribeiro e Castro, Portuguese lawmaker who drafted Portuguese law of return.
Muslim groups are demanding Spanish citizenship for potentially millions of descendants of Muslims who were expelled from Spain during the Middle Ages.
The growing clamor for "historical justice" comes after the recent approval of a law that would grant Spanish citizenship to descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain in 1492.
Muslim supporters say they are entitled to the same rights and privileges as Jews because both groups were expelled from Spain under similar historical circumstances.
But historians point out that the Jewish presence in Spain predates the arrival of Christianity in the country and that their expulsion was a matter of bigotry. By contrast, the Muslims in Spain were colonial occupiers who called the territory Al-Andalus and imposed Arabic as the official language. Historians say their expulsion was a matter of decolonization.
In any event, the descendants of Muslims expelled from Spain are believed to number in the millions—possibly tens of millions—and most of them now live in North Africa. Observers say that by granting citizenship to all of them, Spain, virtually overnight, would end up with the largest Muslim population in the European Union.
Much of the Iberian Peninsula was occupied by Muslim conquerors known as the Moors from 711 until 1492, when the Moorish Kingdom of Granada surrendered to the Catholic Monarchs of Spain (Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon), in what is known as the Christian Reconquest.
But the final Muslim expulsion from Granada did not take place until over a century later, beginning in 1609, when King Philip III decreed the expulsion of the Moriscos.
The Moriscos—Moors who decided to convert to Catholicism after the Reconquest rather than leave Spain—were suspected of being nominal Catholics who continued to practice Islam in secret. From 1609 through 1614, the Spanish monarchy forced an estimated 350,000 Moriscos to leave Spain for Muslim North Africa.
Today, up to five million descendants of the Moriscos are living in Morocco alone; there are millions more living in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Tunisia and Turkey. Read on and comment » | Soeren Kern | Friday, February 21, 2014
UK Journalists Call for Free Press in Egypt
Arizona Legislature Sends ‘Anti-gay’ Bill to Republican Governor Jan Brewer
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| It is unclear if Arizona governor Jan Brewer will sign into law a bill allowing businesses and others to deny service to gays. |
The Arizona legislature gave final approval to legislation that allows business owners asserting their religious beliefs to refuse service to gays, drawing backlash from Democrats who called the proposal “state-sanctioned discrimination” and an embarrassment.
The 33-27 vote by the House Thursday evening sends the legislation to Republican Governor Jan Brewer and puts Arizona back at the forefront of a polarizing piece of legislation four years after the state enacted an immigration crackdown that caused a national furor.
Similar religious protection legislation has been introduced in Ohio, Mississippi, Idaho, South Dakota, Tennessee and Oklahoma, but Arizona’s plan is the only one that has passed. The efforts are stalled in Idaho, Ohio and Kansas.
Republicans stressed that the bill is about protecting religious freedom and not discrimination. They frequently cited the case of a New Mexico photographer who was sued after refusing to take wedding pictures of a gay couple and said Arizona needs a law to protect people in the state from heavy-handed actions by courts and law enforcement. » | Associated Press in Phoenix | Friday, February 21, 2014
THE GUARDIAN: Kansas Republican leaders get cold feet over 'anti-gay' bill: Bill approved by Kansas house would give religious individuals and groups the right to deny services to same-sex couples » | Ed Pilkington in New York | Friday, February 14, 2014
Swiss Court Rules Police Officer's Slurs Did Not Breach Anti-racism Law
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| Switzerland's highest court said calling someone 'dirty' – even if nationality was mentioned – was not against the law. |
Calling someone a "foreign pig" or "dirty asylum seeker" is insulting but is not against Switzerland's anti-racism law, the country's top court has ruled.
The federal tribunal found in favour of a police officer who had used the slurs when he arrested an Algerian suspected thief. » | Agence France-Presse | Friday, February 21, 2014
101-year-old Runs for US Congress in Florida
A Florida great-great grandfather has launched a campaign to run for the US Congress in November, running on a record of 101 years of life experience.
In a bid to become the world's oldest freshman, Joe Newman announced on his website joenewman101.com that he will present his candidacy to the House of Representatives for the first time on a promise that "all citizens be heard".
He is 76 years older than the minimum age of 25 required to serve in Congress. » | AFP | Friday, February 21, 2014
Bernie Ecclestone ‘Completely Agrees’ with Vladimir Putin’s Anti-gay Laws, and So Do ‘90 Per Cent of the World’, Says F1 Boss
Bernie Ecclestone has said that not only does he "completely agree" with Vladimir Putin’s anti-gay propaganda laws, but that he believes "90 per cent of the world" do too.
In an ill-advised move, the Formula One boss lent his support for Russia’s controversial legislation, which prohibits the publicity of what it calls "homosexual behaviour" in the country.
"He [Putin] hasn't said he doesn't agree [with homosexuality] just that he doesn't want these things publicised to an audience under the age of 18," Ecclestone told CNN in an exclusive interview.
"I completely agree with those sentiments and if you took a world census you'd find 90% of the world agree with it as well."
"I've great admiration for him and his courage to say what he says," the 83-year-old added. "[It] may upset a few people but that's how the world is. It's how he sees [the world] and I think he's completely right." » | Jenn Selby | Friday, February 21, 2014
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Could This Be the Next Queen of Scotland? As Independence Looms, Will Stuart Crown Return?
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| Could the Duchess of Alba be the next Queen of Scotland? |
And an 87-year-old billionaire from Spain might argue she has the strongest claim.
For the Duchess of Alba is said to be one of two main contenders from the Stuart dynasty, whose Scottish monarchs transformed the country during their time in power.
While First Minister Alex Salmond insists Queen Elizabeth II would remain as head of state after a Yes vote, others are not so sure.
Some Scots look back fondly in the history books to their Stuart kings, the first of whom was Robert II in 1371.
By the 17th century, they ruled all of England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland.
In 1603, James VI of Scotland became James I in London, unifying the two crowns. His son Charles I was executed and Charles II ascended to the thrones after Oliver Cromwell’s inter-regnum.
Charles II’s brother, Roman Catholic James II, then ruled until the Glorious Revolution saw him depart the British Isles.
The last Stuart monarch was Queen Anne, who died childless in 1714. The Crown passed to the House of Hanover, but the Stuart line continued abroad. » | Ted Jeory | Thursday, February 20, 2014
Bittersweet Tears as Divided Koreans Meet after 60 Years
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| South Korean Park Yang-gon (R), 53, and his North Korean brother Park Yang-su, who was abducted by North Korea, cry during their family reunion at the Mount Kumgang resort in North Korea |
Several hundred elderly South and North Korean relatives yesterday clung to each-other, rocking and weeping, and trading photos and faded memories as they met after 60 years Thursday at a reunion for families divided by the Korean War.
The emotional gathering at North Korea’s Mount Kumgang resort was the result of tortuous, high-level negotiations between Pyongyang and Seoul, which had nearly broken down over the North’s objections to overlapping South Korea-US military drills.
Television footage showed snow falling hard as 82 South Koreans - some so frail they had to be stretchered indoors - arrived at the resort in a convoy of buses to meet 180 North Korean relatives they have not seen for decades.
Inside the main hall, where numbered tables had been laid out, there were moving scenes as divided brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, step-siblings and in-laws sought each other out and then collapsed into each others’ arms.
One of the oldest South Koreans, a 93-year-old man who was separated from his pregnant wife during the 1950-53 conflict, met the now 64-year-old son he had never seen. » | AFP | Thursday, February 20, 2014
Student Support: Snowden Elected Rector at Glasgow University
Edward Snowden élu recteur de l’Université de Glasgow »
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Edward Snowden élu recteur de l'Université de Glasgow
Edward Snowden avait accepté l'invitation d'un groupe d'étudiants à se présenter à ce poste.
Il a été préféré à l'ancien champion cycliste écossais Graeme Obree, à l'écrivain Alan Bissett et à l'ecclésiastique Kelvin Holdsworth. Il succède à l'ancien dirigeant du parti libéral démocrate britannique, Charles Kennedy.
Parmi les précédents recteurs figurent également Winnie Mandela et le lanceur d'alerte israélien Mordechai Vanunu.
«Nous sommes ravis de voir Edward Snowden élu nouveau recteur de l'Université de Glasgow», ont également écrit dans un communiqué le groupe d'étudiants qui l'avait sollicité. » | Agence France-Presse, Londres | mardi 18 février 2014
Muslims 'Warned in Fatwa Not to Live on Mars'
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| 'Fatwa' issued against Muslims going to live on Mars |
Muslims have been warned in a Fatwa not to go and live on Mars because it would pose "a real risk to life", according to a Dubai news organisation.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment (GAIAE) in the United Arab Emirates said that anyone making such a "hazardous trip" is likely to die for "no righteous reason".
They would therefore be liable to a "punishment similar to that of suicide in the Hereafter", the Khaleej Times reported. » | Barney Henderson | Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Barack Obama Apologises for Mocking Art History
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| President Obama wrote a note apologising for his "glib remark" |
When the apology came it was handwritten and on White House stationary.
President Barack Obama sent a personal note of contrition to a university professor after she complained about him mocking art history during a recent speech.
Speaking in Wisconsin on a trip to promote American manufacturing, Mr Obama noted that workers could make more money in "skilled manufacturing or the trades than they might with an art history degree".
Sensing he may have offended academic sensibilities, Mr Obama quickly added: "Now, nothing wrong with an art history degree - I love art history. So I don't want to get a bunch of emails from everybody." » | Raf Sanchez, Washington | Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Baroness Warsi ‘Saddened’ by Rise in Islamic Sectarianism
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| MP's comments come after Briton carries out suicide attack in Shia-Sunni Syria conflict |
In a speech during a trip to the Middle East, Baroness Warsi said that differences between branches of Islam were being used by extremists to cause “tension, turmoil and terrorism”. She warned that such preaching was stripping the “soulfulness and kindness of spirit” from the heart of the religion and called on Islamic leaders to “reclaim the true meaning of the religion”.
Her comments come just days after it emerged that a UK citizen had become the first known Briton to carry out a suicide attack in Syria. Abdul Waheed Majeed, from Crawley, joined Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qa’ida-aligned group, and drove a truck laden with explosives into the gates of a prison in Aleppo.
While the Syrian conflict is in part about the rule of President Assad it also has a very significant sectarian dimension. Mr Assad is supported by the Shia minority in Syria, while the opposition come from the almost exclusively Sunni majority.
In her speech, given at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Oman, Baroness Warsi said such divisions were rarely confronted but posed “a great danger to faith and our world”. “The hatred that can exist between sects – between people who follow the same God – disturbs and saddens me,” she said.
“And even in Britain we are not immune from it. With division being preached by some, and belittling another’s faith or denomination being used as a way of reaffirming one’s own. Often the strongest condemnation seems to be reserved for your brother or sister in faith.” » | Oliver Wright | Tuesday, February 18, 2014
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Warsi warns of sectarian threat: Religious sectarianism “threat to world” says Baroness Warsi » | Matthew Holehouse, Political Correspondent | Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Extremist Preacher Anjem Choudary Taunts Home Secretary Theresa May
The notorious hate preacher sparked fresh fury after appearing on Channel 5’s The Big British Immigration Row: Live on Monday night.
He prompted a flood of complaints to Ofcom after warning more British troops would be targeted in Lee Rigby-style horror killings.
There were even calls to boot him out of the UK or seize his passport, with Choudary himself quipping that Home Secretary May, 57, was on his case.
But yesterday the defiant cleric, 47, snarled: “I was born here." » | Jimmy McCloskey | Wednesday, February 19, 2014
The Big British Immigration Row » | First broadcast on Monday, February 17, 2014
Assessment: North Korea
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Kim Jong-un out-spending extravagant father: UN report: North Korean leader raised $645 million for luxuries from ivory trade, underground sale of alcohol » | Julian Ryall, Tokyo | Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Prince of Wales Joins Saudi Sword Dancers in Traditional Dress
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: BAE agrees pricing on Typhoon deal with Saudi Arabia: Years of uncertainty ends over multi-billion pound sale of fighters to Saudi Arabia in boost to defence giant ahead of annual results » | Alan Tovey | Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Ukraine Crisis: Kiev Clashes 'Like a War Zone'
Police used rubber bullets and stun grenades to stop thousands of protesters marching on parliament.
Bridget Kendall reports. (+ BBC video) » | Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Venezuela: Maduro fürchtet den Staatsputsch
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| Venezuelas Präsident Nicolas Maduro |
Nicolas Maduro kämpft um seine Präsidentschaft. Venezuelas Staatschef hätte das Land aus der Krise führen müssen, in die sein Vorgänger Hugo Chávez es in seiner 14-jährigen Amtszeit gesteuert hatte. Stattdessen ging es in den vergangenen Monaten wirtschaftlich weiter rapide bergab.
Es kann daher kaum verwundern, dass sich die Unzufriedenheit in der Bevölkerung jetzt auf der Straße zeigt. Für den heutigen Dienstag ist eine weitere Großkundgebung in der Hauptstadt Caracas angekündigt. Nach dem Willen von Oppositionsführer Leopoldo López soll diese friedlich bleiben.Dass dies jedoch keinesfalls garantiert ist, beweisen die Proteste der vergangenen Woche, bei denen zwei Studenten sowie ein regierungsfreundlicher Aktivist getötet wurden. » | Von Sybille Klormann | Dienstag, 18. Februar 2014
Un rendez-vous secret entre Nicolas Sarkozy et Angela Merkel ?
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| Selon "Le Parisien". Nicolas Sarkozy et le chancelière allemande Angela Merkel "ont prévu de se voir très prochainement sans doute en Allemagne". |
Nicolas Sarkozy se rendra à Berlin le 28 février pour donner une conférence sur le thème des relations franco-allemandes devant la Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung, la fondation de la CDU, parti d'Angela Merkel, a-t-on appris lundi de sources concordantes. Selon un porte-parole de la CDU à Berlin, cette conférence portera sur le thème des relations franco-allemandes et sur l'avenir de l'Europe.
Vingt-deux mois après la défaite électorale de mai 2012, le couple "Merkozy" serait-il en passe de se reformer ? Le Parisien affirme en tout cas lundi, sans préciser de date, que l'ancien président et la chancelière allemande Angela Merkel "ont prévu de se voir très prochainement, sans doute en Allemagne". Cette rencontre, précise le journal, "a été préparée dans le plus grand secret par leurs deux entourages pour éviter 'les interprétations fâcheuses'". » | Le Point.fr | mardi 18 février 2014
Ukraine Crisis: Flames and Stun Grenades as Police Launch All-out Assault on Protesters in Kiev
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| Anti-government protesters throw stones and molotov cocktails towards Interior Ministry members |
Fires lit up central Kiev as Ukraine’s security forces launched an assault on protest camps in the heart of the capital after a day of bloodshed that claimed nine lives.
A long-feared attack on the demonstrators who have occupied central Kiev since December appeared to have begun on Tuesday evening. The interior ministry announced the onset of an “anti-terrorist” operation after setting a deadline of 6pm local time for the protests against President Viktor Yanukovych to end.
Afterwards, central Kiev was sealed off and the metro closed down. Specialist riot police armed with assault rifles closed on Independence Square, the site of the biggest protest camp. Security forces overran the main barricade protecting this area and set the tents belonging to demonstrators ablaze. » | Roland Oliphant, David Blair and agencies | Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Gay No Go: Kansas Approves Bill Discriminating Against Same-sex Couples
New Catholic Cardinal Renews Attack on 'Disgraceful' UK Austerity Cuts
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| The Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, said the government's crackdown on benefit cheats was disproportionate as only 1% of the welfare budget went on fraudulent claims. |
The leader of the Roman Catholic church in England and Wales says he has been inundated with messages of support after branding the government's austerity programme a disgrace for leaving so many people in destitution.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme to mark his imminent appointment as a cardinal by Pope Francis, Archbishop Vincent Nichols expanded upon his comments to the Telegraph when he criticised the government's welfare reforms as "punitive".
"The voices that I hear express anger and despair … Something is going seriously wrong when, in a country as affluent as ours, people are left in that destitute situation and depend solely on the handouts of the charity of food banks," Nichols said. » | Matthew Weaver | Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Egypt Warns Tourists of Islamist Terror Threat
Egypt’s prime minister yesterday issued a warning to the tourism industry after a terror group claimed a suicide bombing on a bus which killed three South Koreans and threatened to stage more attacks. The statement by Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, or Supporters of Jerusalem, celebrated the loss of one of its “heroes”, who it said attacked the bus as it was heading towards the “Zionist entity”.
An explosion on the bus, which was carrying South Korean Christian pilgrims and approaching the Israeli border crossing at Taba after visiting St Catherine’s Monastery in South Sinai, killed three passengers and the Egyptian driver, as well as the bomber.
“This is part of our economic war against this treacherous, agent regime,” the statement said. “We are watching this treasonous gang and we will target its economic interests everywhere, to cripple them and their actions against the Muslim people.” » | Richard Spencer in Cairo | Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Netanyahu Compares Israel Boycott Movement to Nazism
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| Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu |
Benjamin Netanyahu has invoked Europe’s Fascist past to attack the growing calls for a boycott of Israel, comparing it to embargoes imposed on Jewish businesses by the Nazis and other anti-Semitic groups.
“The most disgraceful thing is to have people on the soil of Europe talking about the boycott of Jews. I think that’s an outrage,” the Israeli prime minister told a conference of US Jewish organisations in Jerusalem.
“In the past, anti-Semites boycotted Jewish businesses, and today they call for the boycott of the Jewish state and, by the way, only the Jewish state.”
Mr Netanyahu’s fiercest broadside yet against the boycott movement followed several meetings among senior government figures over how to tackle what Israel sees as a looming threat of economic isolation.
Mr Netanyahu singled out the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, a group run by pro-Palestinian intellectuals that calls for a boycott of Israeli goods due to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land. He called the group’s members “classical anti-Semites in modern garb” whose true goal was the destruction of the Israeli state. » Robert Tait, Jerusalem | Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Royal Cousins at War: Into the Abyss
Episode 1: Royal Cousins at War: A House Divided »
Striking Back: Germany Considers Counterespionage Against US
The question seemed out of place, especially when asked three times. A female journalist from a satire magazine wanted to know if Thomas de Maizière liked cheese snacks. "Questions like that are more appropriate for breakfast television than here," the minister snipped back. It was de Maizière's first visit as interior minister to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic intelligence agency. And he was in no mood for jokes.
Instead, the minister preferred to focus on the basics during the appearance two weeks ago, with counterespionage at the top of his list. The issue, he warned, shouldn't be underestimated, adding that the question as to who was doing the spying was but of secondary importance.
In other words: Germany intends to defend itself against all spying efforts in the future, even if they are perpetrated by supposed friends.
While the minister's words may have sounded innocuous, they marked nothing less than the start of a political about-face. Away from the public eye, the German government is moving toward implementing plans to turn its own spies against partner countries like the United States, putting allies on the same level as the Chinese, Russians and North Koreans. » | SPIEGEL Staff | Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Inside Story: North Korea: Trumped Up Tyranny?
Amr Moussa: Arab Spring Has Not Improved Economy or Brought Stability to Egypt
Denmark Bans Halal and Kosher Slaughter as Minister Says ‘Animal Rights Come Before Religion’
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| New law, denounced as 'anti-Semitism' by Jewish leaders, comes after country controversially slaughtered a giraffe in public and fed him to lions |
The change to the law, announced last week and effective as of yesterday, has been called “anti-Semitism” by Jewish leaders and “a clear interference in religious freedom” by the non-profit group Danish Halal.
European regulations require animals to be stunned before they are slaughtered, but grants exemptions on religious grounds. For meat to be considered kosher under Jewish law or halal under Islamic law, the animal must be conscious when killed.
Yet defending his government’s decision to remove this exemption, the minister for agriculture and food Dan Jørgensen told Denmark’s TV2 that “animal rights come before religion”. » | Adam Withnall | Tuesday, February 18, 2014
NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY: Denmark bans religious slaughter » | Friday, February 14, 2014
WORLD BULLETIN: Denmark to ban halal and kosher slaughter methods » | World Bulletin / News Desk | Friday, February 14, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
Saudi Woman Named First Editor-in-Chief of Newspaper
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| Somayya Jabarti said she felt a great sense of responsibility |
The English-language Saudi Gazette announced on its website that Somayya Jabarti would succeed Khaled Almaeena.
In Sunday's edition of the paper, he wrote Ms Jabarti had won the opportunity on merit, describing her as a determined and dedicated journalist.
Ms Jabarti meanwhile said: "A crack has been made in the glass ceiling. And I'm hoping it will be made into a door."
In an interview with al-Arabiya News, she admitted she felt a great sense of responsibility.
"My actions will reflect upon my fellow Saudi women," she explained. » | Monday, February 17, 2014
Heavy Snow Revives US Interest in 86-year-old Sport
WIKI: Skijoring »
Eurozone Countries Should Form United States of Europe, Says EC Vice-President
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| Viviane Reding: 'Like Winston Churchill, I believe that the UK not be part of this, but it should remain a close ally with the federated eurozone.' |
A "United States of Europe" should be formed by the 18 eurozone countries to stabilise the European single currency, a vice-president of the European commission says in a speech on Monday evening.
Speaking at the Cambridge University faculty of law, Viviane Reding borrows Winston Churchill's historic 1946 phrase as she called for a full fiscal and political union on much of the continent.
Delivering the Mackenzie Stuart lecture, Reding says: "There is a strong case for a true fiscal and ultimately political union. In my personal view, the eurozone should become the United States of Europe."
However, Reding endorses Churchill's view, outlined in his Zurich speech in 1946, that Britain should remain apart from the United States of Europe. » | Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent | Monday, February 17, 2014
North Korea[n] Prisoner: 'I Had to Bury My Son'
Kim Young-soon told reporter Paul Adams that she was imprisoned in North Korea during the 1970s, in an ordeal that lasted nine years.
"My parents were starved to death in Yodok camp... I had to take their bodies on my back and bury them... and I also had my nine-year-old son drowned and I had to do the same for my boy as well," she remembered.
Charity Amnesty International, which monitors prison camps in North Korea using satellites, estimates that there are now 200,000 people in such camps in the country.
And the organisation says that number is growing. (+ BBC audio) » | Tuesday, October 08, 2013
Counting the Cost: The Price of Closed Borders
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