Euro Zone Split Over Financial Transaction Tax
European finance ministers are discussing a proposed EU financial transaction on Tuesday, but the bloc is hopelessly divided on the issue. Not even Germany and France’s plan B, to only introduce the tax in the euro zone, has much chance of success. Key euro-zone members such as Ireland and the Netherlands are afraid of losing out.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Gov’t Launches Int’l Tender for Sale of Gas Utility
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, MARCH 2 — Greece launched an international tender for the sale of DEPA, the state-owned gas company- as part of an ambitious privatization programme, as Athens News Agency reports. The Greek state has a 65% equity stake in DEPA while Hellenic Petroleum SA has the remaining 35%.
Both shareholders and the State’s Private Property Fund have agreed to jointly sell their stakes in DEPA. Under the terms of the tender, all interested parties will submit bids on a bundle or unbundle basis and stressed that the state will retain 34% of DESFA, the gas grid operator. The deadline for invitations ends in March 22, 2012. Preselected investors will then submit indicative bids in the second phase of the tender before a short-list is drafted. The tender procedure is scheduled to be completed in August 2012. DEPA is active in the wholesale, trading and supply of gas both to retail and industrial clients and participates in international gas pipeline projects, such as the Greece-Italy project (ITGI), the Greece-Bulgaria project (IGB) and the SouthStream project.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Sharp Growth in Crime
Citizens and shop owners feel threatened in town centres
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, MARCH 12 — One of the most urgent questions that the new Greek minister for citizen’s protection wanted to address on his very first day in office, is the problem of rapidly rising organised crime in the historic centre of Athens, in part a product of the severe economic crisis that has hit the country. Gangs of criminals of various nationalities, prostitutes and drug addicts from all over, now make up the diverse human wildlife that hovers night and day in the city centre where frightened foreign tourists, are abandoning the last drop hotels still open, while the few inhabitants and traders live in the area in fear and uncertainty, far from the reassuring presence of the police.
Crime ‘in the historical centre of Athens, as in other big cities of the country, affects business as well as peoples’ sense of security. According to the results of a survey conducted on behalf of the General Confederation of Greek Commerce, “we can talk of an epidemic of closures hitting shops that is continuing to spread like an infectious disease.” According to the same survey, the situation in the capital will become even more’ critical than it was during the second half of 2011, as the percentage of closed shops has already risen from 24.4% in August 2010 to 29.6%.
The continuing arrival of illegal immigrants — writes PASOK MP Nantia Giannakopoulou in a parliamentary question to ministers Tassos Gianitsis (Interior, that is Public Administration) and Michalis Chrisochoïdis (Protection of the Citizen, equivalent to Italy’s ministry of the interior) — who cannot find work or, if they find it, are poorly paid, functions as a breeding ground for crime and illegality. This upsets the social balance cutting the old city in two. “Indicative of the triangle of illegal immigration — crime ‘- the economic crisis — writes the MP — is the fact that most of the 300 people who enter Greece illegally every day, after a few days, are already in Athens.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Bank of Italy Head Says Italians Must ‘Work Longer and Harder’
Rome, 7 March (AKI) — Italians must work harder and longer, said Bank of Italy governor Ignazio Visco on Wednesday, throwing his weight behind some painful measures implemented by Italy’s emergency government.
“You cannot but ask that you work longer and work harder,” he said during a speech at a conference in Rome. “Italy has a lot of gaps to fill and must face and remove important obstacles to assure growth.”
Prime minister Mario Monti and a team of unelected ministers were appointed in November after Silvio Berlusconi’s government collapsed under the weight of scandal and a debt crisis.
Since taking office, Monti has launched a war on tax evasion, passed tax hikes and pension reform which makes Italians work longer before qualifying for full retirement benefits.
The government is now taking aim at economic reforms it says will increase competition.
“Efforts for financial stability have to be done together with structural reforms that are just as necessary,” Visco said during the “‘Women and the Italian Economy” conference.
“Maintaining the standard of living reached in our country requires raising the intensity of human capital and a resumption of the growth in productivity.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Brussels Inspectors to Look Into Excessive Deficit
(ANSAmed) — MADRID, MARCH 9 — European Commission inspectors were in Madrid this week “for an information exchange with the Spanish authorities on the situation of public finances,” said the European Commission spokesman for Economic Affairs Amadeu Altafai in statements to the media. Altafai, quoted by the Europa Press agency, said that it is a matter of “a customary practice with all countries within the economic and monetary union and, in particular, with those having excessive debt, which today represent a wide majority in the EU.” The sending to Spain of inspectors has occurred a few days after Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced that the deficit containment target for 2012 would be 5.8% of GDP instead of the 4.4% requested by Brussels, after it went over by more than 2.5 points to 8.51% of GDP, set for 2011. The European executive has therefore requested clarification from the Madrid government on the causes of this slippage, whether it is due to specific management or structural reasons, and whether it should be attributed to state administration or regional. Brussels holds that the figures on Spanish deficit are “constantly changing” ,said Altafai. The situation of Spanish finances will likely be discussed in the meeting of eurozone economy ministers scheduled for March 12-13.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Spain Gets Concession on Budget Deficit
Eurozone finance ministers on Monday (12 March) agreed to a looser deficit target for Spain this year, but insisted that the fourth largest euro economy be back on track by 2013, a first test for eurozone’s tougher budget rules.
“Entering the meeting I did not expect a decision on the 2012 budget for Spain, but now we have a common decision that the front-loaded effort this year should be of 0.5 percent of GDP,” Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker said during a press conference at the end of the eurozone finance ministers’ meeting.
The figure is an important concession for the Spanish government, who earlier this month announced it would overshoot an agreed deficit target (4.4%) by 1.4 percent of GDP this year.
Unpredicted recession and unemployment above 20 percent, as well as a higher deficit unveiled after the previous government left office in 2011 were all used as justification by Spanish finance minister Luis de Guindos — who first had a one-on-one meeting with the German finance chief.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Center Honors Roger Ailes With Mightier Pen Award
Hosts Conference on “Reporting in a Dangerous World”
New York, NY March 13, 2012: On Tuesday, February 28th, 2012 at the Union League Club in New York City, the Center for Security Policy presented Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes with the Mightier Pen Award.
Mr. Ailes personifies the qualities extolled by the Mightier Pen award. Under his guidance, Fox News has transformed coverage of national security and related issues. Fox News has proven with its stunning market success that the American people want to be told the truth about an increasingly dangerous world, the challenges it poses to those who cherish freedom and the momentous choices before us — choices that may determine the future security and prosperity of this nation and its friends.
The award luncheon was preceded by a morning conference titled Under the Gun: Reporting News in a Dangerous World, with presentations by veteran journalists and legal experts on the increasing threats to reporters and to free expression worldwide, including in the U.S.
The first session, titled “Growing Censorship of Free Speech” (video) discussed “lawfare,” the misuse of the legal system, notably through lawsuits, to suppress 1st Amendment rights. The panel was moderated by former Congressman Fred Grandy and featured Sam Nunberg of the Middle East Forum’s Legal Project, Brooke Goldstein of the Lawfare Project and Andrew McCarthy, former Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney and Senior Fellow at the National Review Institute.
The second session, titled “Escalating State Violence Against Political and Religious Expression” (video) discussed the disturbing trend of the global decline of journalistic freedom, according to a Freedom House report…
| — Hat tip: CSP | [Return to headlines] |
Frank Gaffney: Channeling Scoop Jackson
When Barack Obama became President of the United States, he swore an oath to “preserve, protect and defend our Constitution.” Unfortunately, evidence has accumulated ever since that he feels no obligation to honor his commitment.
In fact, Mr. Obama has been violating that oath, left and, well, left. Here are a few of the most egregious examples:
Under the President’s health care legislation, now universally known as Obamacare, Americans are compelled to purchase health care. The constitutionality of this measure is being tested in court at this writing. But such a mandate smacks of big government overreach that must be struck down by the Supreme Court…
| — Hat tip: CSP | [Return to headlines] |
Santorum Wins Alabama, Dealing Blow to Gingrich
Rick Santorum has won the Republican presidential primary in Alabama, according to a projection by the Associated Press.
Santorum had been running neck-and-neck with Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney in the final days, according to polls. All three candidates appeared to be in position to win some delegates, more than half of which are allocated proportionally based on the statewide vote.
Returns showed Gingrich and Romney in a tight battle for second place.
The victory could boost Santorum’s effort to oust Gingrich from the race. Even Gingrich’s campaign had said he would need to sweep the Southern states in order to keep his candidacy viable. Gingrich tried to walk that notion back over the weekend, suggesting that he would march on to the party convention in Tampa, Fla., no matter what.
Romney had not been expected to fare well. He told a Birmingham, Ala., radio station last week that the Deep South is “a bit of an away game” for him. Still, a “super PAC” backing his candidacy pummeled the airwaves with ads on Romney’s behalf, and he braved a rainstorm Monday to meet voters in Mobile, Ala.
With 50 delegates at stake, Alabama is the biggest prize of the four states and territories holding nominating contests Tuesday…
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Saudi on Student Visa Was Arrested After Threatening to Blow up White House
(CNSNews.com) — A Saudi Arabian national who entered the United States on a student visa was arrested in January after he threatened to blow up the White House, according to written and verbal testimony presented to Congress last week by two top officials of the Department of Homeland Security.
| — Hat tip: KGS | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium: ‘Salafist Stormed Mosque in With Ax and Petrol’
The following is an original translation of an article from Belgian media on the storming and burning of a Shia mosque in Belgium March 12 2012
Thank you Ethan for doing this work for us. To see the original story in Dutch with a few more pictures please click the link above.
Eeyore
Translation below:
UPDATE: In an petrol attack at a Shiite mosque in Anderlecht one person is dead.
The victim, the imam of the mosque, was suffocated in the smoke of the fire that was caused by a molotov cocktail. the Representatives of the Belgian Muslim community say: , “the Salafist movement, a fundamentalist Islamic movement that belongs to Sunni Islam, is responsible for the attack.”
The deceased imam had first tried to extinguish the fire, along with another member of the mosque. All in Vain. Both tried afterwards to get outside through the upper floor, but only one man survived,” said Azzedine Laghmich, a Shiite leader, who works in the mosque. According to Laghmich, a man with a knife and an axe stormed inside the building and started a fire with gasoline. Then he walked back outside, shouting Salafist slogans about the conflict in Syria. Passers-by stopped him him and held him, till the local police came and arrested him.
The Vice President of the French College of the Muslim Executive of Belgium, Isabelle Praile, herself a Shiite, told the RTBF that witnesses stated, that this action was of an extremist Salafist. “The Rida Mosque, the largest Shiite mosque in Brussels, had a few years ago, been guarded by police after threats of Salafists,” said Praile. The police said that the motive of the arrested perpetrator is still unknown…
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
France’s Le Pen Clears Election Candidacy Threshold
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has managed to get the backing of 500 elected officials, meaning she can stand in the presidential elections. “I have my 500 signatures and therefore I will be a candidate in the presidential election,” Le Pen told Reuters, with the first round 22 April.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Neo-Nazis Cloak Themselves in Eco-Rhetoric
They’re into organic farming, oppose GMOs and worry about endangered species. Experts say neo-Nazis are increasingly cashing in on themes of the environmental movement to attract new supporters.
“Environmental protection should be inherent to cultural progress.” That’s a statement that could easily be attributed to any environmentalist group. Instead it comes from the National Democratic Party (NPD), a far-right but still legal German party, and it’s another sign of how right-wing groups are increasingly latching on to environmental topics.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italians Ask EU to Take a Stand for Detained Marines
Silence over Indian court ruling ‘deafening’, say ministers
(ANSA) — Brussels, March 6 — Silence from European Union representatives regarding the Italian marines arrested and incarcerated in southern India is ‘deafening’ said Italian members of the European Parliament on Tuesday.
MEPs arrived at EP meetings on Tuesday carrying signs reading ‘save our marines’ with photos of the accused servicemen, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone.
Italian MEPs said that the lack of bipartisan support from fellow MEPs was “unacceptable” and called for the EP to stand next to Italy.
On Monday, a four-hour face-off took place when prison authorities allegedly refused to respect court orders regarding the marines’ detention, said Foreign Undersecretary Staffan de Mistura, a longtime trouble-shooting diplomat sent to liaise with involved officials from all parties “Upcoming local elections” in Kollum where the two are being held are impacting actions of local authorities, said de Mistura and risk setting a dangerous precedent that could impact future foreign missions, “including those by India”.
The two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen were sent to prison Monday on remand by an Indian judge.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: ‘Love Boat’ Sold to Demolition Company
Genoa, 7 March (AKI) — Love sometimes ends badly. Such is the case for the Pacific Princess cruise ship, that was featured in the hit 1970s and 80s television program “Love Boat.”
The 376 metre vessel, rechristened Princess in 2002, was sold for 2.5 million euros to Turkish demolition company Cemsan, Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported.
The ship’s sale came after its owner failed to pay a Genoa, Italy company a six million euros tab for asbestos removal and refurbishment, the daily said. The Love Boat’s sale had been the centre of a law suite for fraud in a US court.
The American sitcom, aired on American ABC television network from 1977-1986, featured the love and problems of the ships crew and passengers. .
The ship was build in 1971 in West Germany for $25 miilion.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Norway Church Leaders Don’t Believe in Bible
More than three quarters of Norway’s Christian leaders believe the creation story depicted in the Bible to be little more than a fairy tale, according to a new survey. Just 15.8 percent of respondents said they considered the creation story to be a historical fact, while 8.8 percent said there was an “other” explanation.
More than half of the 58 priests and pastors surveyed by Christian newspaper Vårt Land considered the tale of Noah’s Ark to be grounded in historical fact. 17.2 percent said they didn’t believe in the story of the deluge and the giant vessel, while 20.7 percent agreed that “there are several indications that there was a great flood, but one can ask questions about the ark and Noah.”
Half of the respondents said they believed in Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution in some form, while a third said they did not lend any credence to the nineteenth century biologist’s explanatory model. Siding with those who doubted the literal veracity of the Bible was the Lutheran Bishop of Bjørgvin, Halvor Nordhaug.
“In my view, some people make things incredibly difficult for themselves and for others when they produce a contradiction between the Biblical creation narrative and modern research findings. It’s completely unnecessary and it complicates faith,” he said.
Newspaper Vårt Land approached 200 Christian leaders for their views on the bible but only received responses from 58 people.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Portrait of Britain 2012: Armed Police Train Guns on Veiled Woman Fearing She Has Bomb in Bag
It is a chilling image that will go around the world — police taking aim at a woman in a hijab after a tip-off claiming she has a bomb in her bag.
It is not known if the backpack contained an explosive or not but officers were not taking any chances.
The incident is on-going seven hours after it started at the seafront in Saltburn, Teesside, today. Army bomb disposal experts are believed to be on site.
Cleveland Police have not yet confirmed the exact nature of the incident but but said it was sparked after ‘information’ they received about the woman’s conduct. They said the area has been cordoned off and they are concerned about the welfare of a woman.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing a white woman wearing a dress with a veil sitting on a bench surrounded by armed police, who were alerted shortly after 11am. At 6.40pm, negotiations with her were still taking place.
Residents in Saltburn say they believe it is a woman local to the area.
A bomb disposal team have are also at the scene and a police helicopter has been scrambled.
It is understood that a rucksack is being examined by bomb disposal experts and at one point the woman was face down on the ground as officers covered her with their weapons.
A cordon is in place and Saltburn bank has been shut to traffic.
Some locals claimed the woman had been to a hardware store in the town earlier in the day and purchased items.
One, who did not want to be named, said: ‘She doesn’t say a lot, she’s always walking around wearing a white hijab, she’s white.
‘My friend tried to say hello to her once, she just snapped at him. We heard she went to M and M DIY Home Improvement hardware store, trying to buy things to make a bomb apparently.’
Sales assistants at the store would not confirm that the woman had been to the shop, however a shopkeeper next door said she had been in the store earlier in the day.
Sign-fitter Will Murray was working in the arcade in the town’s pier when the stand-off began.
As members of the public were evacuated from the area, he and his colleagues were trapped inside to witness armed police and bomb disposal experts descend on the scene.
The 31-year-old, from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, said: ‘Police coaxed her out of a small shelter near to the pier at around noon and got her to kneel on the floor.’
She had a rucksack and Mr Murray believes officers suspect there was a bomb inside it.
Speaking at 4pm, he said: ‘All we can see is the woman on the floor with her back to us.
‘She has moved away from the bag now. She has a veil on. They are still pointing guns at her and the dogs and bomb disposal are still here.
‘It looks as though they are thinking there is a bomb in the bag. I don’t understand if she’s away from the bag why they don’t go in and get the bag.’
Another eyewitness said: ‘She is sitting on the bench with her hands on her head.
‘An armed policeman is pointing a gun at her. There are about four officers that I can see on the ground and they are all by the seafront.’
A spokeswoman for Cleveland Police said: ‘Shortly after 11am today police received information that a woman in Saltburn may have suspicious items on her and became concerned for her welfare.
‘Police have traced the woman to the sea front in Saltburn and are currently speaking to her.
‘Armed officers and trained negotiators are currently at the scene, as well as other emergency services. Specialist officers from the army bomb disposal unit are also in attendance.
‘A cordon has been put in place to prevent public access to an area close to the sands and to ensure public safety.
‘Saltburn Bank is currently closed to traffic and several people who were at business premises in the area were earlier evacuated.
‘The priority of the police is to bring about a safe conclusion to the incident and enquiries are ongoing.’
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Gainsborough Man Jailed Over Anti-Islam Images in His Flat Window
A GAINSBOROUGH man who plastered his front window with vile anti-Islamic hate literature has been jailed for a year.
Darren Conway, a self-confessed supporter of right-wing organisations, was given a 12-months’ sentence at Lincoln Crown Court.
The court was told on Tuesday that carer Conway had covered the front window of his ground floor flat in Heaton Street in Gainsborough with 17 photographs and posters.
Many were offensive — attacking both the prophet Mohammed and the Muslim religion.
Conway, 44, had denied displaying the religiously aggravated hate material on April 16 last year.
But he was convicted following a short trial earlier this year, when sentencing was postponed for reports to be prepared.
Judge Michael Heath told Conway: “To describe the material you put in your window as grossly offensive is an understatement.
“There is no place in a civilised society for conduct of that sort and the only sentence I can justify for it is an immediate custodial sentence.”
Conway was also given a three-month concurrent jail sentence — to run alongside the longer term — after admitting unlawful production of cannabis.
Sixteen cannabis plants were found growing in his home when police visited to investigate the hate crime.
Christopher Lowe, prosecuting, said that Conway, who admitted to supporting both the BNP and the English Defence League, was caught after a member of the public complained to police.
“Later that day police attended the premises and found 17 posters and images
in the front window in full public view,” said Mr Lowe.
“The majority of the displayed posters and images were undoubtedly offensive to the Islamic faith.
“Conway was arrested at the scene and taken into police custody.
“He appeared to make out that those posters were, more or less, an opportunity to get back at his landlord.
“He was trying to justify them on a political and religious basis.
“In the back room was found a small grow of cannabis plants. Sixteen plants were growing under heated lamps.”
Tony Stanton, in mitigation, said Conway appeared to have displayed the material as part of an ongoing dispute with his landlord.
He said Conway had no history of similar offending and spent much of his time caring for his elderly father.
“His father has suffered multiple strokes and cannot get out,” said Mr Stanton.
“This defendant involves himself in regular activity such as shopping for his father. That person would suffer should he lose his liberty.
| — Hat tip: Steen | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Racist is Jailed
THE OFFENSIVE actions of a Gainsborough man were blasted by a judge as he was jailed for displaying inflammatory racist posters in the front window of his flat.
Darren J Conway covered the window of his Heaton Street flat with posters, literature and photographs which attacked the Prophet Mohammed and the Muslim religion.
When police searched the 44-year-old’s flat, they also found 16 cannabis plants growing under a heated lens in his bathroom.
He had previously been found guilty of the charges at Magistrates Court, and appeared at Lincoln Crown Court on Tuesday 6th March for sentencing.
Conway, a former BNP member and supporter of the English Defence League, attracted comments from passers-by and workers at nearby businesses with his offensive display.
Mr Lowe, prosecuting, described a number of the 17 posters and other such material displayed that were ‘undoubtedly offensive to members of the Muslim and Islamic faith’.
Among the slogans on show from his ground-floor window were ‘Jihad works both ways’, ‘no surrender’, ‘Muslims are the most hateful of them all’ and a letter confirming that he was a member of the BNP.
A passer-by reported Conway after being disturbed by the pictures of mutilated Muslims with graphic and obscene messages and imagery.
In Conway’s defence, the court heard how he had no history of racism and he was a carer for his ailing, elderly father who had suffered from multiple strokes.
Conway claimed that he put the posters and other literature in his window simply to attract the attention of the letting agent for his flat with whom he was in dispute, claiming that he had been left for months without electricity in three rooms and described the flat as uninhabitable with mould on the walls.
When sentencing Conway, Hon Judge Heath slammed his offensive behaviour.
“You put 17 offensive pieces and posters in the window of your ground-floor flat where they were there for all to see,” he said.
“To describe the material that you put in your window as grossly offensive would be an understatement, to Muslims and right-thinking members of the public.”
Judge Heath continued: “There is no place in a civilised society for conduct of that sort and the only sentence is an immediate custodial one.”
Conway was sentenced to three months for the production of cannabis and 12 month religiously aggravated harassment.
| — Hat tip: Steen | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Woman in Standoff With Police on Saltburn Seafront
ARMED police are at the scene of a serious incident on Saltburn seafront.
Police have confirmed the area has been cordoned off after concern for the welfare of a woman.
Northern Echo reporter Graeme Hetherington, who is at the scene, said the woman is now sat on a bench with her hands on her head, with a bag around ten feet away from her.
Armed police have their guns pointed at her head.
Army bomb disposal experts are believed to be on site and are thought to be using a robot to investigate the woman’s bag.
It is thought the bag will be taken onto the beach to be dealt with.
Earlier, an eyewitness said: “There is a woman, laid face down on the ground and the police are covering her (with their weapons).
“There is something that looks like a rucksack next to her. Police are just watching her.”
A spokeswoman for Cleveland Police said: “Shortly after 11am today police received information that a woman in Saltburn may have suspicious items on her and became concerned for her welfare.
“Police have traced the woman to the seafront and are currently speaking to her. Armed officers and trained negotiators are currently at the scene as well as other emergency services.
Specialist officers from the Army bomb disposal unit are also in attendance. A cordon has been put in place to prevent public access to an area close to the sands and to ensure public safety.
“Saltburn Bank is currently closed to traffic and several people who were at business premises in the area were earlier evacuated.
“The priority of the police is to bring about a safe conclusion to the incident and inquiries are ongoing.”
It is understood the police helicopter is also in the area, along with possibly two Army helicopters.
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
Serbia: EU: Tadic Not to Accept Impossible Conditions
‘Romania cannot impose its view on Vlachs’
(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, FEBRUARY 29 — EU accession is a complicated process during which each member state can impose its own conditions, but Serbia will not accept impossible conditions and will not give up its principles, said President Boris Tadic. Tadic referred to the fact that Romania yesterday opposed the approval of Serbia’s candidate status. Romania asks for guarantees for the Romanian minority group in Serbia. “If we don’t draw limits, no one will take us serious, and that is also true for the Vlach minority,” Tadic said on Serbia’s public television network RTS. “If Serbia shows itself weak and gives in to blackmail, there would be no end to it. We must stick to our principles,” added the president. Yesterday Tadic was in Brussels, where the EU’s European Affairs Ministers advised tomorrow’s European Council meeting to give Serbia the candidate status, after a long and difficult meeting due to Romania’s opposition. Romania, said Tadic, expects the Vlachs living in Serbia to declare themselves members of Romanian national minority, but part of this group disagrees. “We understand Romania, but we cannot give up on our principles,” he said, underlining that one of these principles is respect for international human rights conventions. Based on these conventions, Serbian citizens have the right to freely express their opinion.
Tadic also stressed that Serbia, apart from the EU candidate status, also deserves the planning of a starting date to start accession talks, and that the only obstacle in these negotiations is the Kosovo question.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Algeria: Elections: Domino Effect of Islamic Parties
Following on from success in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia
(by Diego Minuti) (ANSAmed) — TUNISI, 9 MAR — Beyond the issues being heatedly debated during this very lengthy election campaign leading to a general election on May 15, there is a growing awareness in Algeria that the religious parties that have been doing so well in Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco, will find little in the way of their onward march here. Defined by President Abdel Aziz Bouteflika as decisive for the country’s future, following the introduction of free political parties, the elections now appear to hinge on the role of the sectarian movements. There are five of these in Algeria, and they do not always see eye to eye.
Indeed, the newly formed Green Alliance, which gathers together the Movement of the Society for Peace, Ennahdha and El Islah, has not reached out to embrace the other two parties close to Islam: the Front for National Liberation and the Rassemblement National Democratique. And so if, just a hours after the ceremony to seal the accord, the Green Alliance may consider itself the uncrowned winners of the election, an alliance of five would have been even more of a sure-fire bet. But the Alliance may not have everything its own way, as the two other Islamic parties, whose leaders Abdallah Djaballah and Abdelmadjid Menasra — both who have been raised in a tough school — are ready to do battle, even at the expense of striking the flag of Islam that now flies over the elections. The green wave that began in Tunisia has now swept through Morocco and Egypt and may be about to engulf Algeria, where impatience with the governing majority is growing through popular protest on a daily basis.
Demonstrations may be violent and be repressed just as violently. They have deep roots in the so-called ‘hogra’, as the now ebbing relationship — in all its forms — between the common people and those in power is called. The ‘hogra’ is the public official who keeps you waiting for months for that licence you need; hogra is the police officer who seizes the poor wares of a street trader; ‘hogra’ is seeing others jump the queue in front of you for the right to a council flat; ‘hogra’ is seeing the affluent lifestyles of those who have their hands on the reins of political and economic power in the country while poverty remains as chronic as ever, despite the ample royalties being earned from oil and gas exports, that make Algeria a rich nation. This deep-seated rage is one of the themes that the religious parties have made their own, and they are basically the same bunch who delivered victory to the Islamists in Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt. The feeling is that the victory of the religious parties has nothing, or little, to do with religion: it is just an easy bet once you establish yourself as the answer to the causes of popular anger, offering the “true and just” solution, because it has been inspired by Islam, by the Koran and, tomorrow perhaps, by Sharia.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt’s Parliament Wants Israel’s Ambassador Out, Peace Cancelled
CAIRO — Egypt’s Islamist-dominated parliament unanimously voted on Monday in support of expelling Israel’s ambassador in Cairo and halting gas exports to the Jewish state.
The motion is largely symbolic, because only the ruling military council can make such decisions, and it is not likely to impact Egypt’s relations with Israel. But it signals the seismic change in Egypt after the ouster of longtime leader and Israel ally Hosni Mubarak a year ago in a popular uprising that ended his 29 years in power.
The vote was taken by a show of hands on a report by the chamber’s Arab affairs committee that declared Egypt would “never” be a friend, partner or ally of Israel. The report described Israel as the nation’s “number one enemy” and endorsed what it called Palestinian resistance “in all its kinds and forms” against Israel’s “aggressive policies.”
There was no immediate comment from Israel on the vote by the People’s Assembly, the Egyptian parliament’s lower house.
Egypt became the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. The treaty came six years after the two Middle East neighbors fought the last of their four wars. However, the accord produced a “cold” peace, and most Egyptians still view Israel as their nation’s enemy.
There have been bouts of tension in relations between the two neighbors, mostly over Israel’s perceived reluctance to proceed in good faith with peace talks with the Palestinians, but leaders of the two nations have consistently kept open channels of communication.
The parliamentary report also called for the recall of Egypt’s ambassador in Israel and a revision of Egypt’s nuclear power policy in view of the widespread suspicion that Israel has a nuclear arsenal of its own.
“Revolutionary Egypt will never be a friend, partner or ally of the Zionist entity (Israel), which we consider to be the number one enemy of Egypt and the Arab nation,” the report said. “It will deal with that entity as an enemy, and the Egyptian government is hereby called upon to review all its relations and accords with that enemy.”
Monday’s vote by parliament could serve as an indication of what may lie ahead. The Islamists who dominate the 508-seat chamber, as well as the largely powerless upper house, would like to see the president’s wide executive powers curtailed in the country’s next constitution, while boosting those of the legislature. If they have their way, statements like Monday’s could impact relations with Israel.
The parliament’s vote could also give the generals who succeeded Mubarak an added incentive to keep the office of the president as the nation’s most powerful institution and ensure that Egypt’s next leader is beholden to the military.
The ruling military council is led by Mubarak’s defense minister for 20 years, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. Many of its members are veterans of Egypt’s last war with Israel in 1973, but they also have worked to maintain the peace since 1979.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which controls just under half of the seats in the powerful People’s Assembly, wants a president with an Islamist background.
| — Hat tip: TV | [Return to headlines] |
Government Issues Travel Advisory to Turkey
Counter Terrorism Bureau issues alert announcing terror groups’ intention to carry out attacks against Israeli, Jewish targets in coming days
The Counter Terrorism Bureau issued a travel advisory advising Israelis to avoid visiting Turkey on Tuesday. The bureau said that terrorists are planning to carry out attacks against Israelis or Jews in the country in the coming days. Last week, a Turkish TV report said that Israel warned Ankara that Iran had sent terrorists to Turkey in order to target Israelis. The NTV network reported that a letter from the Mossad sent to Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) said that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are planning a terrorist attack “using bombs” against Israeli targets in Turkey. The report also stated that four people from Iran have already arrived in Turkey carrying weapons and materials to be used in the attack. Israel’s travel advisory was issued several hours after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made harsh statements against Israel in the backdrop of the current round of violence with Gaza terror groups.
| — Hat tip: TV | [Return to headlines] |
Qatar: Divorce Peak Caused by Women, Survey
(ANSAmed) — DOHA, FEBRUARY 23 — The fact that Qatar’s divorce rate is rising can be blamed on the women in the country, according to a survey carried out by newspaper The Peninsula.
Based on this study, more than half of divorces in Qatar are the result of women disobeying their husband: in at least 20% of divorces the women behaved badly and 36% were caused by insolent behaviour by women. Some 17% of divorces are caused by women refusing to do their household chores. In 9% of the cases the husband decides to divorce out of jealousy, but also in these cases women are to blame, because they made their husband jealous by leaving the house on their own. One in three wives in Qatar suffer physical or psychological violence from the side of their husband, but this is not one of the listed causes for divorce in the survey. In a country in which the wife and daughter of the Emir are career women leading financial empires with great responsibilities and power, the situation of women in Qatar is still heavily influenced by the country’s culture. Qatar is still unable to women playing an important role in society and in marriage, but can see them as cause for family break-ups.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Asian Countries ‘Unlikely’ To Support Iran Attack
South Asian experts say there is a lack of Asian support for a possible US or Israeli attack against Iran as it could destabilize the whole region and jeopardize its energy needs.
As the war rhetoric against Iran amplifies in Israel and the US, Iran’s neighboring countries like China, India and Pakistan have expressed their disapproval of a new conflict in the already turbulent region.
The United Nations’ atomic agency, the IAEA, has reported irregularities in Iran’s controversial nuclear program, and has hinted that the recent enhancement in Iran’s uranium enrichment capabilities may mean the Islamic country is trying to develop a nuclear bomb.
Western countries have long accused Iran of secretly building a nuclear bomb, which they fear could be used against Israel.
Recently, in a meeting with US President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that time was running out for the Iranian regime. Although the US president downplayed the war talk, he did not rule out a military option to stop Iran from getting atomic weapons.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
India — Italy: Kerala: Two Marines Sent Straight to Jail
This was established by the national court in Kollam. Sent to the military prison at Trivandrum (capital of Kerala), where they will receive differential treatment “in accordance with their status”. Tomorrow the hearing that will decide the jurisdiction of the case. A peaceful demonstration of 5 thousand fishermen to ask the Indian government for safety at sea.
Kollam (AsiaNews) — The court of Kollam (Kerala) has determined the transfer to Trivandrum prison for two Italian marines Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone. The ruling will take effect immediately, but the judge has ordered that the soldiers be treated in accordance with their status. Moreover, the police and the prison administration can decide on a different form of lodging, similar to the one they have enjoyed up to now. The marines will remain in prison for the next 14 days. Tomorrow, however, the court must address the question of the jurisdiction of the case. Meanwhile, the results of the ballistics report, drawn up by Indian and Italian experts, is expected. The marines are the only two suspects for the murder of Jelestein and Ajai Binki, two Indian fishermen, on 15 February off the coast of Kerala.
These days a new controversy has increased the confusion surrounding the case. Yesterday the family of Jelestein refused to meet with Italian Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, Staffan de Mistura. The secretary said he was “disappointed”, adding that he “understands the feelings of these people” and still “prays for them and for the two victims.” According to some Indian newspapers, the local church “influenced” the widow’s decision.
Instead, Fr. Stephen Kulakkayathil, pastor and former Secretary General of Quilon in Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council (Klrcc) specifies to AsiaNews: “No personality of the local Church has interfered or is interfering in this issue. De Mistura wanted a strictly private meeting. The victim’s family feared that the Italian delegation wanted a compromise outside the court rooms. So, she requested that the meeting happen in front of members of the government and the diocese. This was not possible, and the visit did not happen. “
Meanwhile, the Church is mobilizing to demand the government increased safety at sea, after a fresh incident which has shaken the community of fishermen. On March 1 last year in fact, off the coast of Alappuzha an unidentified cargo ship struck the shipping vessel Don-1, causing the deaths of two men. Of the entire crew, two were injured and three are still missing. This morning, more than 5 thousand fishermen demonstrated in Neendakara in the Diocese of Quilon. Present at the event, the priest says: “These incidents occurred just two weeks apart from each other and they reveal the precarious and insecure conditions in which our fishermen work. Now they are afraid and the government must be strong for its citizens. All we want is security: to go to sea without the risk of dying from causes unrelated to our work. “
Today’s protest was the first in a series of peaceful protests that local church and fishermen have planned throughout the month. The next will be held on 12 and 19 March, at the port of Kochi and Trivandrum. (GM)
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italians Find Weapons Cache in Afghanistan
Sweep against opium gangs in western Farah region
(ANSA) — Kabul, March 12 — Italian soldiers on Monday found a weapons cache during a sweep against opium traders in the western Afghan Farah region.
The weapons included mortars and munitions, military sources said.
Farah has Afghanistan’s second-biggest problem with opium gangs, they said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Life on the Margins, Discrimination Against Christian and Hindu Women in Pakistan
The National Commission for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Church releases a report on the tragic conditions faced by minority women. Blasphemy and forced conversion are the first level of threat. Lower education and higher infant mortality are the second.
Islamabad (AsiaNews) — Women from Pakistan’s minority communities have a lower level of education but a higher level of infant mortality. They suffer discrimination in the workplace and are the victims of constant attempts at forced conversion or false charges of blasphemy, this according to a recent report titled ‘Life on the margins’ on the status of minority women released by the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) of the Catholic Church. About a thousand Christian and Hindu women took part in the survey. They are from 8 districts in the Punjab and 18 in Sindh Province, which together represent 95 per cent of the country’s religious minorities. More than 90 per cent of Pakistanis are Muslim, predominantly Sunni.
One factor in discrimination is forced conversion. One non-Muslim woman in two experiences pressures to convert to Islam, which often come with violence and coercion. Looming in the background is the blasphemy law, seen by many as the most serious obstacle to social and cultural equality.
Another factor is higher than average infant mortality among minorities with 314 infant deaths out of 3,050 live births for a rate of 10.30 per cent compared to the national average of 8.7 per cent.
Discrimination also affects education. The report found that only 47 per cent of the minority women interviewed have a formal education, which is far lower than the national average of 57 per cent and far behind the urban literacy rate of women of 65 per cent.
The workplace is another area of discrimination. Some 43 per cent of Hindu and Christian women said that they faced discrimination, stress and psychological pressure where they worked.
On International Women’s Day, which is celebrated today, 8 March, NCJP activists lament the fact that, in the third millennium, discrimination based on race and religion remains a shameful blot on Pakistan.
One figure stands out. According to the report, 62 per cent of respondents believe that, in the wake of religious disturbances like those in Shatinagar, Gojra, Korian and Sialkot, the majority community would not stand with them.
NCJP executive director Peter Jacob said that a copy of the report would be sent to the provincial governments in Sindh and Punjab as well as the Ministry of Human Rights and Interfaith Harmony
It will also be posted on the NCJP’s own website at www.ncjppk.org
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
EU to Announce Joint Rare Earth Trade Case Against China
The EU will announce on Tuesday that it is joining the United States and Japan in a new trade suit against China over its restrictions on the export of rare earths, key to the manufacture of high-tech products.
European Union sources close to the case said the suit would be brought before the World Trade Organization later on Tuesday.
China is the world’s biggest producer of rare earths — 17 elements critical to the making of high-tech products from iPods to missiles — and its moves to dictate production and exports have raised a global outcry.
Earlier Tuesday, Beijing defended its restrictions on their exports, saying they complied with WTO rules.
“Based on environmental protection and in order to achieve sustainable development, China carries out management policies over the export of rare earths,” foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said. “We believe such measures comply with WTO rules.”
US President Barack Obama is expected to announce later on Tuesday that the United States — along with the European Union and Japan — will bring a new suit against China at the WTO, prompted by these restrictions.
Critics say Beijing’s strategy is aimed at driving up global prices of the metals and forcing foreign firms to relocate to the country to access them. But Beijing says the restrictions are necessary to conserve the highly sought-after natural resource, limit harm to the environment from excessive mining and meet domestic demand.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Half of Oslo Dwellers Immigrants by 2040
Immigrants are set to make up almost half of Oslo’s population by 2040, according to Statistics Norway, new figures show, prompting an immediate call for more restrictive immigration policies from Progress Party leader Siv Jensen.
In less than 30 years from now, 70 percent of the Norwegian capital’s first and second generation immigrants will have their roots in countries outside the 30-member European Economic Area, Statistics Norway said.
The study, the first ever projection of immigration trends to be published in Norway, shows that the largest cities will also see the biggest upsurge in immigrant numbers.
Immigrants are defined in the statistics as either people who have either moved to Norway from another country, or the Norway-born children of two first-generation immigrants.
According to Statistics Norway’s most likely scenario, Oslo’s immigrant population will rise from today’s 28 percent to 47 percent in 2040.
In the country as a whole, the immigrant population is expected to jump from 12 to 24 percent, or from 600,000 people today to 1.5 million in 2040.
For Siv Jensen, the trend is deeply worrying.
“For far too long Norway has been an attractive country for asylum seekers and immigrants. The Progress Party believes it’s high time for more restrictive policies,” she said.
“The more immigrants there are the more difficult it will be to make integration work,” according to the 42-year-old head of the populist opposition party, which has long called for stricter immigration rules.
Jensen said the Progress Party wanted Norway to hand out fewer residence permits to immigrants. She also called for the country to tighten immigration policy loopholes.
For instance, she suggested that an immigrant marrying somebody from the same country of origin in Norway should not automatically be granted residency.
“We must admit that there are major differences in the types of integration challenges posed by different immigrants.
“Norway still has a major need for workers, and labour-market immigration from Eastern Europe presents completely different integration challenges than immigration from Eastern Africa,” said Jensen.
| — Hat tip: The Observer | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Non-EU Immigrants Will Have to Sign ‘Pact’
Language and civics lessons mandated
(ANSA) — Rome, March 7 — Non-European Union immigrants coming to Italy will have to sign a new pact from March 10 mandating Italian-language and civics lessons.
The Integration Accord Between the Foreigner and the State lays down a series of “rules, rights and duties on the part of immigrants”, government sources said.
The accord was framed by the previous government led by Silvio Berlusconi.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Statement by PVV Member of the European Parlement Auke Zijlstra
Eight years ago no less than 12 new countries became members of the European Union. At that time everybody new all to well that those countries were not ready to become Members of the European Union. However, because the European Commission prefers a large Union to a stable one, the terms of admission for Member States were lowered. As a result 300.000 people left Central and Eastern Europe and settled in the Netherlands. This large number of people coming to the Netherlands has raised many problems in housing, labour market, education and social security for this country.
Confirming that these problems are a reality was only possible through the internet hotline of the Party for Freedom. Over 100.000 people have brought in complaints about Eastern Europeans.
The real individuals responsible for the import of criminality and creating public disturbances are the elite of the Union. They are responsible for the abolition of the frontiers between the Member States. The Dutch are not the only ones who are suffering from this open frontier policy. President Sarkozy is threatening to pull France out of the Schengen zone.
In the mean time the European parliamentarians, the elite of the Union, are holding a plenary debate. This debate is not about the every day problems of ordinary citizens in Europe, but about the internet hotline itself. This demonstrates the topsy-turvy world of the European Union.
The European Parliament, including its chairman, ignores the real problems of people. It ignores the simple facts. The Party for Freedom on the other hand listens to its citizens and will not shun away from its responsibilities.
The European elite composed of members of the European Commission and of the European Parliament live in a European dream world that has turned out to be a nightmare. Their fantasy has evaporated but they do not want to acknowledge this fact. It is about time they tear off their masks of moral superiority now. The citizens are on to them. They are fed up. The time has now come to abolish the European Parliament.
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