Pope Benedict XVI worked to quell anger in South America over his recent comments on the conversion of native populations, conceding Wednesday that "unjustifiable crimes" were committed in the conquest of the continent 500 years ago.
(Zenit: B16 on the journey to Brazil)
Tony Blair will meet the Pope at the Vatican next month as part of a visit to Italy before he leaves office on June 27th. Blair, whose wife Cherie is Catholic, has been widely rumoured to be prepared to convert to Catholicism when he leaves office.
Jørn K. Baltzersen has interviewed His Imperial and Royal Highness Dr. Otto von Habsburg, Archduke of Austria and head of the House of Habsburg, which ruled varying parts of Christendom for several centuries. His Highness was Member of the European Parliament for 20 years and was this spring in the media in connection with the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. His Highness was named number 8 among the top people of 2006 by Inside the Vatican.
Merkel's Christian Democrats, who regard the 2 missions in Afghanistan as strengthening the trans-Atlantic relationship, cautioned that the government should not make any quick decisions about ending the mandate for the US counterinsurgency mission.
German troops will prolong assisting African Union forces in Darfur. The government said it wanted to continue accompanying the peace process in the region and help contain one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes.
The Dutch prime minister has set out his country's position on the new EU treaty, saying it should drop the word "constitution", give a bigger say to national parliaments, set clear limits to EU powers and more precise enlargement criteria.
President Sarkozy's idea of a simplified treaty designed to end the EU's constitional crisis appears to be gaining support.
(IHT op/ed: Sarkozy makes a quick break with the past)
Putin's trip also had a distinct business flavor, manifested by an announcement that Russian and Austrian companies had signed a slew of contracts totaling more than 5 billion euros. Austria gets about 60% of its gas from Russia. During the news conference, Putin also guaranteed Austrian gas supplies until 2027.
German press...
Sunni terrorism in Lebanon, civil war in Gaza, governments and ceasefire agreements in shambles - the Middle East has plunged deeper into chaos in recent days. German papers see little hope for peace.
President Ahmadinejad said that Iran will continue its nuclear program, the official IRNA news agency reported. "Enemies' goal of preventing peaceful use of nuclear energy is not a technical nuclear position."
The Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said in accordance with IAEA Chief's new report no deviation has been observed in inspecting entire nuclear substances in Iran. "This proves that Iran is moving within the framework of the international laws, and is merely using its legitimate rights in its peaceful nuclear activities."
The Majlis Speaker said the US should abandon its hostile attitude towards Iran. "Nowadays, the US officials express willingness to hold talks with Iran, so they should quit their hostile behavior towards Iran. Iran intends to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and regards it as its rights. We are not after producing atomic weapons. This is Iran's transparent policy which has been declared to Europe, the US and the entire world."
Israel's Foreign Minister said that "the international community needs to focus on preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons."
The US will seek greater pressure on Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions than Britain, France and Germany want, diplomats said after the UN nuclear watchdog agency said existing sanctions aren't working.
As Iran ignores another Security Council deadline to suspend the enrichment of uranium, the idea of allowing it to engage in limited enrichment under strict inspection is being more widely discussed. This would be a "third way" solution between the continuation of sanctions, which have been ineffective in stopping Iran's activities, and a military attack, which would plunge the region into conflict and probably not be supported by some of the closest US allies.
In one short answer to a moderator's question in the South Carolina debate in which Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul suggested that US foreign policy motivated the 9/11 terrorists, Paul produced an earthquake that is shaking the Republican establishment.
Gas prices in the US are soaring again - to an average of $3.22 a gallon, and close to $4 a gallon in many areas. Some oil executives are now warning that the current shortages of fuel could become a long-term problem, leading to stubbornly higher prices at the pump.
President Bush is likely to veto legislation passed in the House that would create hefty fines and criminal penalties for gasoline price-gouging. The White House, in a formal statement of administration policy, said the legislation amounted to price controls that would hinder oil companies and retailers from responding to market signals.
A stark warning from Alan Greenspan of a looming collapse in the Chinese stock market has sent shivers through the global markets. He predicted a "dramatic contraction" in Chinese shares prices that would spread to other markets.
European shares fell after briefly hitting fresh 6-1/2-year highs on Wednesday, hurt by a broad equities retreat after former Alan Greenspan warned of a potential correction on Chinese markets.
Despite modest trade agreements announced by the US and China on Wednesday, a heavy cloud still hangs over their economic relationship. Questions abound about what the US might do next to push Beijing to reduce its huge trade surplus with America.
Argentina and Brazil, South America's two largest economies, will drop the US dollar in favor of a regional currency in their bilateral trade starting in October 2007.
Another approach used by those who would dictate relativism to the rest of us consists of linguistic re-definitions, euphemisms, and other anomalies. Language, as the philosopher Heidegger said is the "house of being". If our language is contorted and deconstructed beyond fixed meanings then the being housed by language becomes indeterminate. Ultimately, we must reclaim the proper use of language if we are to combat the dictatorship of relativism with its dogma of hedonism and its anti-life culture.
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