Clipmarks | invictus's Europe collection

Princess Diana unlawfully killed

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:46:35 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Princess Diana was unlawfully killed due to the "gross negligence" of driver Henri Paul and the paparazzi, an inquest jury has found.

The jury reached the same verdict for her companion Dodi Al Fayed.

The jury also specified that Mr Paul's drink-driving and a lack of seatbelts contributed to their deaths.

Mr Al Fayed's father Mohamed refused to accept the verdict. Former Met Police chief Lord Stevens said he hoped it would bring "closure".

The jury returned joint verdicts of unlawful killing through grossly negligent driving - or gross negligence manslaughter

The inquest into the 1997 Paris crash that killed the couple and Mr Paul lasted six months.

The total cost to British taxpayers of investigating Princess Diana's death is expected to top £10 million.

Tags: princess diana, united kingdom, dodi al fayed

Serbia and Russia reject Albanian rule in Kosovo

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:20:08 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: See also my previous clip on subject.

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia intends to rule parts of Kosovo where "loyal citizens" still look to Belgrade for government, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said on Monday.

He won renewed backing from ally Russia, whose likely next president, Dmitry Medvedev, made a high-profile visit to say Moscow will continue to back Serbian sovereignty, despite Western support for the independence of Kosovo.

Kostunica said protest rallies against the new republic would continue and there would be no normalization of ties with capitals which had accepted it, until they changed policy.

"Serbia will do everything to implement its jurisdiction and state prerogatives for all loyal citizens in Kosovo -- Serbs and non-Albanians," Kostunica said.

"There cannot be normalization of relations with the states that recognized Kosovo independence until they annul their decision. Protest rallies will not stop as long as illegal independence is not annulled."

Tags: serbia, kosovo, balkans, russia, war

Russia pledges support to Serbia

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:09:09 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Looks like Kosovo crisis gonna deepen soon. The likelihood of a new "war in Europe" is already being discussed by analysts. That's why Russia's position as a "key actor" seems very important at the moment.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Russia has emerged as Serbia's strongest ally

The man tipped to become the next Russian president has vowed his country will "stick to" its support for Serbia in opposing Kosovo's independence.

Deputy PM Dmitry Medvedev was in Belgrade for talks with Serb President Boris Tadic and PM Vojislav Kostunica.

Although its focus is mainly economic, the visit is seen as a sign of support for Serbia's view on Kosovo, the BBC's Bethany Bell in Belgrade says.

Kosovo's declaration of independence sparked protests in Serbia last week.

"We proceed from the assumption that Serbia is a united country, whose jurisdiction covers the whole of its territory, and we shall stick to this principled stand," Mr Medvedev said during his meeting with Mr Kostunica, Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported.

Mr Medvedev's comments, and the timing of his visit, will be seen as evidence that Russia's foreign policy is unlikely to change once serving President Vladimir Putin steps down.

Tags: kosovo, balkans, serbia, russia, europe, war

U.S. Embassy in Belgrade attacked

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:13:24 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks:

In other protests, several hundred Serb army veterans at a border post between Kosovo and Serbia stoned Kosovo riot police who, backed by Czech troops in riot gear, stood their ground until the protesters dispersed. No one was hurt.

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Smoke billowed from the American embassy in Belgrade after scores of protesters broke into the building on Thursday, cheered on by crowds outside, in a protest at U.S. support for Kosovo's independence.

One protester climbed up to the first floor of the building, located on one of the Serbian capital's main boulevards, ripped the Stars and Stripes off its pole and briefly put up a Serbian flag in its place.

Protesters jumped up and down on the embassy balcony, holding up a Serbian flag as the crowd below of about 1,000 people cheered them on, shouting "Serbia, Serbia."

Some 200 riot police finally arrived about half an hour later, beating and arresting some of the rioters and driving the rest away. Some protesters sat on the ground, bleeding.

"As long as we live, Kosovo is Serbia," Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica told the crowd from a stage in front of the old Yugoslav parliament building in Belgrade, to applause.

Tags: belgrade, serbia, kosovo, united states

Knights Templar win heresy reprieve after 700 years

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:59:17 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Knights Templar, the medieval Christian military order accused of heresy and sexual misconduct, will soon be partly rehabilitated when the Vatican publishes trial documents it had closely guarded for 700 years.

A reproduction of the minutes of trials against the Templars, "'Processus Contra Templarios -- Papal Inquiry into the Trial of the Templars"' is a massive work and much more than a book -- with a 5,900 euros ($8,333) price tag.

"This is a milestone because it is the first time that these documents are being released by the Vatican, which gives a stamp of authority to the entire project," said Professor Barbara Frale, a medievalist at the Vatican's Secret Archives.

"Nothing before this offered scholars original documents of the trials of the Templars," she told Reuters in a telephone interview ahead of the official presentation of the work on October 25.

Tags: knights templar, history, vatican, inquisition

Inferno in Greece

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 16:57:27 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Death toll is at least 44. It's like a nightmare.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The speed with which the fire spread caught many people unawares

Greek emergency workers continue to find the charred bodies of people burned to death by forest fires that are raging in the south of the country.

Officials raised the death toll from the fires over the past two days to 44.

Searches of burnt cars, houses and fields were still turning up the remains of those who could not escape.

Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis called the situation "an unspeakable tragedy". The government appealed for EU help and later declared a state of emergency.

Greek newspapers are calling the southern Peloponnese region a "crematorium", says the BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens.

The fires have been moving so fast that people have been cut off before they could escape. With emergency services overstretched, desperate residents and local officials called television and radio stations to appeal for help.

Tags: greece, forest fire, disasters

Minarets, Cathedral and Politics: Islam in Europe

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 21:42:01 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: The growing Muslim community in Germany is demanding new mosques, while a strong opposition rises in the country against what they call "the Islamization of the land". Reactions come from both extreme-right local parties and respected intellectuals and thinkers, each side expressing their worries in a different way, of course. Religious issues keep growing in Europe's agenda, adding up to the so-called "conflict (or clash) of civilizations".

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Germans Split Over a Mosque and the Role of Islam

COLOGNE, Germany — In a city with the greatest Gothic cathedral in Germany and no fewer than a dozen Romanesque churches, adding a pair of slender fluted minarets would scarcely alter the skyline. Yet plans for a new mosque are rattling this ancient city to its foundations.

Cologne’s Muslim population, largely Turkish, is pushing for approval to build what would be one of Germany’s largest mosques, in a working-class district across town from the cathedral’s mighty spires.

Predictably, an extreme-right local political party has waged a noisy, xenophobic protest campaign, drumming up support from its far-right allies in Austria and Belgium.

But the proposal has also drawn fierce criticism from a respected German-Jewish writer, Ralph Giordano, who said the mosque would be “an expression of the creeping Islamization of our land.” And he does not want to see women shrouded in veils on German streets, he said.

Tags: germany, cologne, religion, islam, mosque, politics, europe

France: Another Political Thatcher is Born

Tue, 08 May 2007 17:22:00 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

France: Another Political Thatcher is Born

As France struggles to balance its traditional respect for labor with the pressures of a globalized economy, the country's new Prime Minister will play a key role.

Nicolas Sarkozy's triumph in the French presidential elections could open the way for deep political and social changes, not unlike those that began with the era of Margaret Thatcher in Britain in the 1980s.

Sarkozy, who will take office May 16, declared immediately that during his mandate "values such as hard work, morality, authority, respect and merit will be rehabilitated."

Such wording, which he has used repeatedly during his campaign, has been widely interpreted as announcement of further dismantling of the welfare state, preference for neoliberal politics in favor of enterprises, and state authoritarianism.

Tags: france, elections, sarkozy, authoritarianism, right-wing

Thousands protest Sarkozy in Paris

Mon, 07 May 2007 16:45:41 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Hard times are near for the French.

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

In France, conservative candidate Nicolas Sarkozy has been elected to be the country's new president. Sarkozy won a clear victory over Socialist rival Segolene Royal with 53 percent of the vote to her 47 percent. The estimated turnout of 84 percent was the highest in France in three decades.

Sarkozy will officially replace President Jacques Chirac on May 17th to begin his five year term. In his victory speech Sarkozy assured Americans of France's "friendship." Within hours of the election results being announced, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest. In Paris, police fired tear gas at 300 demonstrators who burned an effigy of Sarkozy while shouting "Sarko-fascist." Hundreds more took to the streets in other cities across France. Dozens were arrested.

Tags: france, elections, nicolas sarkozy

UK-France union plan unearthed

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 21:44:03 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Formerly secret documents unearthed from the National Archives have showed Britain and France considered a "union" in the 1950s.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

When Britain and France nearly married

Formerly secret documents unearthed from the National Archives have showed Britain and France considered a "union" in the 1950s.

On 10 September 1956 French Prime Minister Guy Mollet arrived in London for talks with his British counterpart, Anthony Eden.

These were troubled times for Mollet's France. Egypt's President Gamel Abdel Nasser had nationalised the Suez Canal and, as if that was not enough, he was also busy funding separatists in French Algeria, fuelling a bloody mutiny that was costing the country's colonial masters dear.

Monsieur Mollet was ready to fight back and he was determined to get Britain's help to do it.

Formerly secret documents held in Britain's National Archives in London, which have lain virtually unnoticed since being released two decades ago, reveal the extraordinary proposal Mollet was about to make.

The following is an extract from a British government cabinet paper of the day. It reads:

"When the French Prime Minister, Monsieur Mollet was recently in London he raised with the prime minister the possibility of a union between the United Kingdom and France."

Tags: united kingdom, france, union, 1950s, guy mollet, anthony eden

Skull scandal 'disgusts' Germany

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 03:48:59 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Skull scandal 'disgusts' Germany

BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday called photos of German soldiers in Afghanistan playing with a skull "shocking and disgusting," and Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said those involved will be dealt with harshly.

One image was published on the cover of the national tabloid Bild, under the words "Schock Fotos."

In the picture, a soldier seems to be slightly smirking as he poses with the skull in his raised right hand. A black banner covers his face.

Other images show the skull displayed like an off-center hood ornament on the front of a jeep. Another picture shows a soldier holding the skull near his exposed penis.

A German army spokesman said a prosecutor was questioning two men -- a soldier and a former soldier -- in the case.

Bild did not say how it obtained the photographs, and provided no proof of their authenticity. It is not clear where the skull came from, the newspaper said.

Germany has about 2,700 soldiers in Afghanistan with the International Security Assistance Force, which the United Nations set up in 2001 after the U.S.-led battle to oust the Taliban regime and rout al Qaeda.

Tags: germany, afghanistan, skull scandal

Poll gain for Belgium's far right

Mon, 09 Oct 2006 00:59:09 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Djiezes, what's going on in Belgium? Fascists winning elections?

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Poll gain for Belgium's far right

Vlaams Belang Chairman Frank Vanhecke claimed a spectacular victory

Local elections in Belgium have indicated a strong show of support for the separatist anti-immigration party in the Dutch-speaking north.

Vlaams Belang, or Flemish Interest, has increased its share of the vote in nearly every municipality.

For years, the racist rhetoric of some of its members and its anti-immigration stance has seen it excluded from power.

Despite being the largest single party in many towns, left and right parties have combined to keep it out of office.

Tags: belgium, local elections, vlaams belang, neo-fascism

Blair 'to hand over power in May'

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 12:40:35 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Blair 'to hand over power in May'

News 24 coverage

Tony Blair will announce later he will be stepping down as prime minister within the next 12 months, Downing Street has confirmed.

He will make a statement on his future between 1400 BST and 1500 BST.

He is not expected to give a precise date but Commons leader Jack Straw has indicated the prime minister plans to stand down in May.

It follows 48 hours of bitter feuding and a string of resignations over Mr Blair's refusal to name an exit date.

Tags: tonly blair, england, labour party, resignation

Blair hit by wave of resignations

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 23:46:11 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Blair hit by wave of resignations

Mr Blair is being urged to make a public announcement

Tony Blair has faced a wave of resignations by junior members of his government over his refusal to name a date for resignation as Labour leader.

He branded ex-junior minister Tom Watson, the most senior person to quit, "disloyal, discourteous and wrong" for signing a letter urging him to go.

The resignations came as Mr Blair faces growing pressure to name a departure date or even quit now.

Tags: tony blair, england, resignation

Blair's body language reveals his inner child

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 23:27:42 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.int.iol.co.za

Blair's body language reveals his inner child

London - Awkward questions over British involvement in Iraq expose prime minister Tony Blair's helpless inner child, a psychologist said Tuesday after studying the body language of the country's politicians.

Dr Peter Collett, of Oxford University, told a science conference that Blair has a habit of touching his stomach in stressful situations, which effectively translates as: "I want my mummy."

"It takes us back to a point in our lives when we were babies. When babies get distressed, mothers often rub their tummies to calm them down. Tony's mother's not around to rub his tummy, so he does it himself," he added.

Tags: tony blair, body language, psychology, inner child, britain