In his first press conference since taking office, Pope Benedict XVI says Mexico City politicians who supported a law legalizing first trimester abortions have excommunicated themselves.
Benedict XVI's first full day in Brazil included a meeting with young people where he touched on themes as varied as protecting the environment and saintliness.
(Zenit: Full text of address)
Pope Benedict XVI met President Lula da Silva of Brazil yesterday, a day after their subordinates clashed over proposed changes to abortion legislation in the most populous Catholic country in the world.
A US-based group that fights anti-Semitism urged Pope Benedict on Thursday to suspend the sainthood process for Pope Pius XII, whom critics accuse of turning a blind eye to the death of Jews during WW2.
German police carried out a series of highly coordinated raids against anti-globalisation and left-wing organizations across Germany on Wednesday. The raids were authorised by the General Attorney's Office on the basis of Paragraph 129a of German law, i.e., that the organisations raided were involved in the "creation of a terrorist organisation." In fact, far from being anything to do with opposing the threat of terrorism, the raids on Wednesday are part of a systematic campaign by the German Interior Ministry and the coalition government to intimidate opponents of the upcoming G8 summit and create the conditions for a further massive buildup of police powers. A German ministry spokesman has confirmed that the security precautions were the most extensive for any single event in Germany since WW2.
(German press: G8 raids "a warning shot to intimidate activists")
(UPI: Far-left hits back)
The voting system and where member states should have a right to a veto are shaping up to be the two biggest issues at the treaty summit next month in Brussels with diplomats already gearing themselves up for a long meeting.
It is Sarkozy's position on Turkey and his insistence that a new treaty say something about the EU's boundaries that is likely to prove more difficult. He is something of a Napoleonic figure, after all; not averse to using a whiff of grapeshot to get his way. I foresee trouble ahead.
A proposal by Nicolas Sarkozy to gather the European, Middle Eastern, and North African countries of the strategic Mediterranean rim into an economic community along the lines of the early EU has begun making waves even before the president-elect takes office.
[WAR: Now this is along the lines of the Roman Empire - which was a completely different entity than the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.]
Nicolas Sarkozy's victory marks a turning-point in the history of the 5th republic. It is not simply a matter of the French right remaining in power. The programme presented by Sarkozy, and the forces he sought to gather round him, represent a major change of direction, making him the first French president to be at once neo-liberal, authoritarian, pro-American and pro-Israeli.
Kosovo is still controversial. The solution towards which the UN Security Council is edging is enormously risky.
But what about Bush's?!!...
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that President Putin's moves to consolidate power are troubling.
The candidacy of Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister, for the presidential elections provoked massive demonstrations in Istanbul and Ankara and aborted the voting process. The confrontation is between secularists and a ruling party with a neo-Islamic tinge, the popular Justice and Development party (AKP), which has overseen a sophisticated, fast-improving economy and the nation's candidacy for the EU. The crisis arose from a contest for the soul of the nation, with nationalism at its core.
(AW: Turkey's unholy alliance)
The Israeli authorities are planning to build 3 new Jewish neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem, an area regarded as occupied land under international law. The Palestinian chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said the plan destroyed efforts to re-start the peace process.
Arab attempts to advance a peace initiative with Israel are moving into higher gear with government-to-government contacts and moves to whip up public Israeli support. Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are leading the effort, and an Arab League liaison group is scheduled to meet EU foreign ministers next Monday.
Vice President Dick Cheney flew into Baghdad on Wednesday to insist that the various political factions within the Iraqi parliament accept Washington's demands and ratify legislation that the Bush administration can present as signs of "progress" in the Iraq war. Cheney is the 3rd senior Bush official to travel to Iraq in the past month to pressure the government in Baghdad to implement Washington's demands. The diplomatic activity is a clear sign of desperation in the White House. If the present political set-up in Baghdad will not serve US ends, the alternative is to dispense with the Iraqi parliament altogether and impose an openly dictatorial form of rule.
China defended its approach to the strife-riven Darfur region, while pointedly avoiding a war of words with US lawmakers who warned of an Olympics backlash if Beijing did not do more to pressure Sudan. China buys much of Sudan's oil, and as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has resisted proposals to send UN peacekeepers without Sudan's consent.
Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said here Thursday night that Iran would not follow the West. "We intend to experience a new culture and civilization by relying on our own rich and ancient civilization without following the West or increasing enmity towards it. The glorious revolution of the Iranian nation was a religious revolution. Our religion is based on culture."
Nuclear weapons states warned Thursday that peaceful use of nuclear energy requires honoring the Non-Proliferation Treaty but Iran rejected charges it is failing to do this.
Vice President Dick Cheney issued a warning to Iran while aboard an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf today, saying the US would join allies to keep Iran from getting nuclear weapons "and dominating the region." With 2 US carrier groups now in the region, he declared, "We're sending clear messages to friends and adversaries alike. We'll keep the sea lanes open."
Neoconservative hawks who championed the invasion of Iraq are leading a new campaign to persuade state and local governments, as well as other institutional investors, to "divest" their holdings in foreign companies and US overseas subsidiaries doing business in Iran.
President Bush issued a formal national security directive Wednesday ordering agencies to prepare contingency plans for a surprise, "decapitating" attack on the federal government, and assigned responsibility for coordinating such plans to the White House. After the 2001 attacks, Bush assigned about 100 senior civilian managers to secretly rotate to locations outside of Washington for weeks or months at a time to ensure the nation's survival, a shadow government that evolved based on long-standing "continuity of operations plans." Since then, other agencies including the Pentagon, the office of the Director of National Intelligence and CIA have taken steps to relocate facilities or key functions outside of Washington, citing factors such as economics or the importance of avoiding Beltway "group-think."
Lest anyone think that Congress is supposed to be the supreme lawmaking body of the central government of the US, those days have long passed. A trend that began during the War Between the States and that accelerated during the Progressive Era and the Great Depression continues unabated. Laws and lawmakers are not what they used to be and certainly not what existed when the republic known as the United States of America was formed. The political reality of the 20th century, and now the 21st century, is that Congress has faded greatly in importance, with the executive branch gaining the most strength.
A "sobered" George W Bush was told by Republican allies yesterday that his party would desert him if the situation in Iraq did not improve dramatically and he continued to keep troops there.
He made serious mistakes, and is one of the most controversial politicians of his generation - but also one of the most successful. On Thursday British prime minister, Tony Blair, announced that he is to retire on June 27, just over 10 years after his 1997 landslide victory. His legacy to Great Britain will be immense.
(IHT op/ed: The question mark over Brown)
Having endured years of Gallic disdain, contempt and hostility, America is getting used to the happy possibility that France might actually be a friend and even an ally again.
US retailers posted the weakest month of same-store sales on record Thursday as an early Easter holiday and chilly weather April dampened shoppers' desire for spring merchandise. Wal-Mart's results were far worse than expected.
The European Central Bank on Thursday signaled that it would lift borrowing costs as early as June to prevent a robust European economy from stoking inflation, even as a surging euro begins to crimp corporate profits and slow exports. In a hint of concern about the euro's rapid rise, Trichet also tried to talk up the dollar, highlighting fears that an excessive rise in the euro could pose an economic risk.
Don't let the door hit you in the...
European leaders have told the Bush administration that Paul Wolfowitz must resign as president of the World Bank in order to avoid a vote next week by the bank's board declaring that he no longer has its confidence to function as the bank's leader.
Because it's beautiful!...
Men find photos of the opposite sex much more "rewarding" than women, new research claims today. According to the study men take the same pleasure out of looking at an attractive female form as they do from having a curry or making money whereas women do not take any significant reward from looking at pictures of men.
If it really is what's on the inside that counts, then a lot of thin people might be in trouble. Some doctors now think that the internal fat surrounding vital organs like the heart, liver or pancreas - invisible to the naked eye - could be as dangerous as the more obvious external fat that bulges underneath the skin.
(AP: Warning: Thin people may be fat on inside)
(AP: Warning: Thin people may be fat on inside)
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