Pope Benedict XVI reportedly lashed out against laws that he said threaten the family and social order, saying: "No law made by man can overturn that of the Creator without dramatically affecting society in its very foundation."
If natural law is not respected, then life, family and society become victims of ethical relativism, warns Benedict XVI.
Here is the report issued at the conclusion of the fourth meeting of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.
Two Germans missing in Iraq since last Tuesday have been kidnapped, German officials have confirmed. The Foreign Minister says his crisis staff is working to free them.
German press...
Moscow and Washington locked horns at the Munich Conference on Security over the weekend, and the rhetoric by two former spies - Vladimir Putin and Robert Gates - reminds German papers of the bad old days of the Cold War.
French presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy has claimed that his idea of a mini-treaty replacing the European constitution is now also raising interest with Chancellor Merkel.
French presidential candidates are fine tuning their political programmes on Europe, with the socialist Segolene Royal proposing to nationalise France's energy sector against EU wishes and with the centre-right Nicolas Sarkozy proposing a "mediterranean union."
Prime Minister Olmert's decision to allow Muslims to construct a massive minaret on the Temple Mount will embolden the enemies of the Jewish state and signal that violence and terrorism are working, according to a group of prominent rabbinic leaders in Israel. The Rabbinical Congress for Peace, a coalition of more than 300 Israeli rabbinic leaders and pulpit rabbis, said in a statement Olmert "does not have the moral or historic right to hand over even one inch of Israeli territory to foreigners."
Civil war is the specter haunting the larger Middle East - which is approaching a point of no return. The Bush administration ought to be engaged in diplomatic conflict resolution with all the key players in the region, with Syria and Iran as well as the Arab states, the Palestinians and Israel. The alternative is to watch the demonic forces of civil war devour peoples and cross borders.
King of the South update...
The Secretary General of an opposition Islamist party has appealed Sudanese people for uprising against the Sudanese president. He further described the situation in the country as being grave. Hassan al-Turabi, the secretary-general of the Popular Congress Party, has called on political forces and civil society organizations to take to the streets in an uprising against the regime of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
European negotiators, yielding to pressure from the US, have agreed to widen a ban on financial transactions with Iran and the export of materials and technology that Iran could use to develop nuclear weapons.
EU foreign ministers have clinched a deal on sanctions against Iran over the country's refusal to halt uranium enrichment. But an internal EU memo suggests sanctions can do little to stop Tehran from getting the bomb.
Deputy Israeli Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman on his country's response to the Iranian nuclear program and the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Still not smellin' the coffee...
President Ahmadinejad has said his country does not fear the US military and that any attack would be "severely punished". "Fear? Why should we be afraid?" He said he thought the possibility of such an attack was "very low". "We think there are wise people in the US who would stop such illegal actions."
Please, Senator Rockefeller, the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear situation is said to be targeted for completion in March. That's too late; you need to read it before the bombs and missiles start falling on Iran.
Hillary Mann, the former National Security Council Director for Iranian and Persian Gulf Affairs under the Bush Administration from 2001 to 2004, has issued a sober warning to the public today concerning the Bush Administration's intentions with Iran. In an interview on CNN, she accused the Bush Administration of "trying to push a provocative, accidental conflict," as a pretext to justify "limited strikes" on crucial nuclear and military infrastructures.
Putin's open breach of diplomatic norms can only be understood in the context of US preparations for war against Iran. The principal interests at stake are of a strategic character. An attack on Iran would virtually complete the encirclement of Russia. The situation increasingly recalls the start of the last century when mounting tensions between imperialist powers finally exploded in the form of the slaughter of WW1. A war against Iran would utterly destabilise the entire international power structure. Not only would such a war inflict horrors upon the population of the entire region—it would inevitably lead to direct confrontations between major powers with strategic interests in the region.
Russia has demanded an explanation from the US over Defense Secretary Robert Gates' remarks, which suggested that Russia was being identified as a potential threat, the Foreign Ministry said. Russia has asked the US to clarify whether Gates' remarks represented the official position of the administration.
One of the historic blunders of this administration has been to antagonize and alienate Russia.
The historic decline of the US (part 2)
Having lost its economic dominance, the US is increasingly resorting to the one area where it does enjoy overwhelming superiority—the use of military force—in order to maintain its hegemony.
Office nappers now have the perfect excuse: New research shows that a little midday snooze seems to reduce the risk of fatal heart problems, especially among men.
One "bad apple" can spread negative behavior like a virus to bring down officemates or destroy a good team, according to a new study examining conflict in the workplace. Negative behavior outweighs positive behavior, so a bad apple can spoil the whole barrel, but one or two good workers can't "unspoil" it.
Office employees have to stay within quite tough limits which make their working activity look very much like slavery.
