THE DAILY WAR!
Non-pagan/papal date: 10-17
THE HOLY ROMAN
A US rabbi says that the title "Righteous among the Nations" should be conferred on Pope Pius XII for his efforts to defend the Jews during WW2.
B16's first encyclical, expected in the next few days, warns believers not to confuse love with lust or degrade it "to mere sex". The encyclical, a papal letter to bishops that sets out Roman Catholic policy, discusses the relationship between "eros", or erotic love, and "agape", a Greek word referring to unconditional, spiritual and selfless love.
Islam and Muslims are expected to be a priority for B16, but he has been publicly quite muted on these topics during his first 9 months in office. One report, however, provides important clues to his current thinking.
The US Supreme Court has allowed a lawsuit against the Vatican Bank to go forward, despite arguments that the suit involved foreign-policy issues that are not within the jurisdiction of American federal courts.
EMPIRE OF THE GERMAN NATION
The German Secret Service (BND) helped the Mossad place agents in Middle Eastern countries by providing them with German passports. Mossad agents have occasionally posed as German citizens when engaging in delicate missions in Middle Eastern countries.
Today, the Foreign Minister embarks on his first trip to the Middle East. Will his visit be overshadowed by reports that German secret agents aided the US in the war on Iraq?
The next few weeks will decide whether the Foreign Minister can keep his job amid mounting pressure to reveal his knowledge over the involvement of German intelligence in Iraq.
German opposition parties have called for a formal parliamentary probe into the country's foreign intelligence services affair. But what can the BND divulge and what rights does the inquiry committee even have?
Contrary to expectations, yesterday's meeting between Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin took place in the warmest atmosphere.
The Iranian government's announcement that it plans to hold a conference on the Holocaust with notorious deniers as guests has caused outrage in Germany.
EUROPE/RUSSIA
Events in Poland grip papers concerned about Eurosceptic noises emerging from Warsaw. The press in Germany smells a whitewash after a probe clears the German secret services of wrongdoing in Iraq. Allegations of fabricated cancer treatment research leave one Norwegian paper fuming, and Angela Merkel continues to win ovations in many papers.
MIDEAST/AFRICA/ASIA
Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has chosen a woman as his new foreign minister - only the second such appointment in the country's history.
An ever-more-desperate Dick Cheney is pulling out all the stops to install "Clean Break" hawk Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu as the next Israeli Prime Minister, to push for an immediate confrontation between Israel and Syria.
The international controversy over Iran's resumption of its nuclear programme is generating comment and reaction in newspapers across the world.
Iran faces only a "slim" risk of being referred to the UN Security Council over its nuclear programme, its foreign minister has said.
In an apparent effort to win international support and avoid censure by the UNSC, Iran yesterday proposed a resumption of nuclear talks with European negotiators.
Russia and China called for more negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, a day after rebuffing a call by the Americans and the Europeans for the issue to be put before the UNSC.
A delegation of Israeli officials has left for Moscow to conduct negotiation on the nuclear problem of Iran. The Israeli delegation hopes to convince Russia to change its stance on the matter.
The Iranian nuclear question is an interesting one which brings into the game all the main players on the world stage and symbolizes the focal point where civilizations and modus operandi meet.
Is the US about to launch a second preemptive war, against a nation that has not attacked us, to deprive it of weapons of mass destruction that it does not have? The "military option" against Iran is the talk of the town.
HOUSE OF ISRAEL
Some things simply seem to stick in people’s minds and stay "true" for generations no matter what other facts are available or if new facts are discovered. However interesting, neither Columbus nor the Chinese were the first ones to discover the Americas. It is a well-known and documented fact that North America was discovered by the Vikings already in the 9th century.
ECONOMY
Analysts say oil prices could top $70 a barrel if the nuclear dispute between the West and Tehran does not reach a quick resolution.
An avalanche of sell orders forced Tokyo's stock market to close early today.
(Reuters: SELLING STAMPEDE SHUTS DOWN T.S.E.)
MISC
E.I.R. STRATEGIC ALERT (PDF document)
LaRouche On Iran Crisis; Crisis over Iran Nuclear Program Escalates; Iran Will Not Bend.
The leader of the British National Party claimed white society had turned into "a multi-racial hell-hole", a jury heard yesterday.
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