The Holy See, fully approving of the IAEA's goal, has been a member since the organization's foundation and continues to support its activity.
The Pope's powerful but reticent German personal secretary has emerged from the shadows to reveal that he is a former Pink Floyd fan whose Vatican postbag includes love letters from admirers. Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, whose striking good looks and athletic physique have earned him the sobriquet "Gorgeous Georg", has been constantly at the side of the German-born Benedict XVI since his election. He controls access to the pontiff.
The intersection between religion and politics continues to provide ample cause for debate, with contentious issues in the areas of bioethics, family policy and social justice. While some insist that religion should have no place in politics, a book published last year proposed that a pluralistic democratic society is in need of faith and religious arguments in public debate.
The EU has appointed German diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger to help mediate in a new round of talks between Serbian and Kosovan leaders over the future status of Kosovo. He secured a reputation for being an expert on the Balkans after his role in brokering the 1995 Dayton Accord that ended the war in Bosnia.
Saying that the Middle East's powder keg is already explosive enough, foreign policy experts for Germany's governing coalition have criticized US plans to sell arms worth billions to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.
Condoleezza Rice is in the Middle East to restart the peace process, but Israel's former ambassador to Germany said the American efforts amount to nothing more than lip service.
Sudan's defense minister has accused "24 Jewish organizations" of "fueling the conflict in Darfur" last week in an interview with a Saudi newspaper. "The Darfur issue is being fuelled by 24 Jewish organizations, who are making the largest amount of noise over the issue, and using the Holocaust in their campaigning. They provide political and material support through their control over the media and across American and British circles"
The Japanese Prime Minister was facing a bleak political future last night after his party suffered a crushing humiliation at the hands of "angry middle-class voters". Calls for his resignation, from the newly emboldened Opposition and from dissenters within his party, are expected to increase.
A prominent Iraqi cleric has dismissed the allegations that Iran is interfering in Iraq's domestic affairs, calling them false accusations. Those who accuse Iran are "puppets of the Iraqi dismantled Baath party", an old enemy of the Islamic Republic.
Iran said on Sunday it was firmly opposed to a hike in OPEC's crude oil output, amid market speculation the cartel could raise production to stem surging prices. "The recent fluctuation in the oil markets emanates from political and geopolitical reasons. In the current circumstances, an increase in oil production will not have any effect on oil prices. Therefore there is no reason for an OPEC production increase."
Iran's Foreign Minister has told a German magazine that the US has too many problems in Iraq to become involved in armed conflict with Iran. The US "is not in a position to get into a new military conflict. 170,000 American soldiers can guarantee neither their own safety nor the security of Iraq."
The looming collapse of the US military in Iraq, of which a number of generals and former generals, including former Chief of Staff Colin Powell, have warned, is happening none too soon, as it my be the best hope for preventing military rule here at home. From the looks of things, the Bush/Cheney regime has been working assiduously to pave the way for a declaration of military rule, such that at this point it really lacks only the pretext to trigger a suspension of Constitutional government.
Gordon Brown invoked the words of Winston Churchill yesterday by reaffirming his belief in the "joint inheritance" that binds Britain and the United States. Downing Street insisted that policy on Iraq remained unaltered and Mr Brown emphasised his deep personal affection for America, describing himself as an "Atlanticist" and saying: "We should acknowledge the debt the world owes to the United States for its leadership in this fight against international terrorism."
(LX cartoon: Nursing the special relationship)
[WAR: Too bad that Brown doesn't realize the true significance of what he said!]
The Bank of England has been warned it could cause "serious economic damage" if it votes this week to raise interest rates for the 6th time in less than a year. Another rate rise would be "very dangerous" for the housing market and industry following sharp falls in international stock markets and the impact of widespread flooding, business leaders said.
Monday, the day when Wall Street announces some if its biggest deals, may not be the same for a while. And that could cause more jitters in stock and bond markets, following their worst week in nearly 5 years. For several years, the size and volume of deals announced at the start of the week set the tone and pace for the global financial markets for the next five days, more often than not sparking rallies that sent shares to new highs. But given the rout in the markets last week, "Merger Monday," as the day is known, may be on hold — indefinitely.
When presidents of the United States make reassuring statements about the stock market, investors with any historic memory prepare to run for the hills. The most famous example was Herbert Hoover after the 1929 crash: "The business of America is sound." Last week global stock markets fell heavily. On Friday President Bush commented that: "The world economy is strong." Until that point, I felt fairly sure that what was happening in stock markets was a relatively minor correction, a response of the equity markets to the problems of the debt markets. Now I am not so sure. President Bush has shaken my confidence in the world economy.
Human morality should be the essential factor in analyzing and making economic policy decisions. In other words, an economic system should reflect what is good and right, not just what those in power choose to dictate or the compromises that can be worked out by the balance of power in some political equation. For the past quarter century, economic life, under the rubric of globalization, has increasingly been based on such overt or covert precepts as, "survival of the fittest," "privatization," "might makes right," "money talks," "whoever has the gold rules," and "let the buyer beware." All are basically reflections of the profit motive vs. any ideal of charity, compassion, or service.
It is a conspiracy theory worthy of a Dan Brown novel. New claims that Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper contains a hidden image of a woman holding a child are provoking a storm of interest on the internet.
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