FRANCE - The EU is on the brink of collapse, as two of its main “pillars” are “crumbling” despite the billions of euros spent on keeping the structure from falling, far-right French leader Marine Le Pen told RT, adding that the union would fail if France left it.
GERMANY - Nearly half of immigrants in Germany consider following Islamic teaching MORE important than abiding by the law, a shock survey has revealed. A shocking one in five German-Turks said they would justify violence if it is provoked by the West, as they said Islam is the “only true religion”. While 47 per cent of Turkish citizens living in Germany admitted following their religion was “more important” than obeying “the laws of the land in which I live”, 32 per cent said they yearn to live in a society of the times of the Prophet Mohammed. Authors of the study ‘Integration and Religion from the viewpoint of Turkish Germans in Germany’ by the University of Münster, said they “didn’t expect” the results after grilling more than 1,200 immigrants.
VATICAN - Papal court handling pardons for sins says contrite Catholics may win 'indulgences' by following World Youth Day on Twitter. In its latest attempt to keep up with the times the Vatican has married one of its oldest traditions to the world of social media by offering "indulgences" to followers of Pope Francis' tweets. The church's granted indulgences reduce the time Catholics believe they will have to spend in purgatory after they have confessed and been absolved of their sins.
RUSSIA - A historic attempt to bring together all leaders of the world's Orthodox churches for the first time in more than a millennium has stalled after the powerful Russian church and three others pulled out at the last minute over disputes ranging from the seating plan to efforts to reconcile with the Vatican. The Holy and Great Council, set to open Sunday on the Greek island of Crete, was to be the first meeting of all Orthodox leaders since the year 787, when the last of the seven councils recognized by both Orthodox and Catholics was held. The meeting is still on, but with the Russian Orthodox Church and three others staying away, its pan-Orthodox aura has faded. The gathering, for which preparations began 55 years ago, was meant to promote unity among the world's more than 300 million Orthodox Christians.
UK - Two leading bishops from the Church of England say it’s “time to change the church” and reconsider interpretations of the Bible which condemn homosexuality as a sin. The Right Rev Paul Bayes, Bishop of Liverpool, says his mind is “open, not closed” on how passages in the Bible talking about homosexuality should be read in the 21st century.
PHILIPPINES - A rumbling volcano in the central Philippines shot a huge column of ash into the sky on Saturday, prompting the official aviation agency to warn aircraft to stay away, authorities said. Mount Kanlaon, located on the central island of Negros, launched a plume of whitish-grey ash about 1.5 kilometres (almost a mile) into the air, said Kenn John Veracruz of the official Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. The civil aviation office issued an advisory, saying "flights operating in the vicinity of the volcano are advised to avoid flying close to the summit as airborne ash from a sudden eruption can be hazardous to aircraft." The volcano, located about 510 kilometres south of Manila, has been more active than usual since November, prompting the government to ban hikers from its slopes. The Philippines is located in the seismically active Pacific "Ring of Fire" and has over 20 active volcanoes.
UK - Which politician has captured the curve, summed up a growing mood, in a ferocious speech? "Your iron industry is dead, dead as mutton. Your coal industries, which depend greatly on the iron industries, are languishing. Your silk industry is dead, assassinated by the foreigner. Your woollen industry is in articulo mortis, gasping, struggling. Your cotton industry is seriously sick. Your shipbuilding industry, which held out longest, is come to a standstill." The Latin, the silk and the mutton are a dead giveaway. Not Trump, but Lord Randolph Churchill in 1884 denouncing Free Trade.
SWITZERLAND - The upper house of the Swiss parliament on Wednesday voted to invalidate its 1992 application to join the European Union, backing an earlier decision by the lower house. The vote comes just a week before Britain decides whether to leave the EU in a referendum.
ISRAEL - Once considered a marginal movement of messianists, Jewish Temple advocates have made major inroads in recent years. More Israeli Jews than ever before are visiting the compound annually, and increasing numbers of Israeli legislators are voicing support for a change in the status quo of the site.
USA - National Guard units seeking to confiscate a cache of recently banned assault weapons were ambushed by elements of a para-military extremist faction. Military and law enforcement sources estimate that 72 were killed and more than 200 injured before government forces were compelled to withdraw.
MEXICO - The LGBT community in Latin America regularly faces violence, and Islam has nothing to do with it. While reactions to the horrific shooting of an Orlando LGBT club have focused on attacker’s alleged links to Islamic extremists — despite pledging allegiance to both the Islamic State group and nemesis Hezbollah — news of a similar attack on a popular LGBT bar in Mexico three weeks before travelled little farther than the state’s border.
USA - Pro choice people say abortion is a woman’s choice because a fetus is not living person, but if I was to go smash a Bald Eagle’s egg and was caught, I would go to jail. Why? It’s just an egg and not a living Bald Eagle, right?
[Reader comment: The Bald Eagle is a protected species. Human life is not. Pretty ironic given that our system is supposed to guarantee "LIFE, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness".]
ISRAEL - On Monday afternoon, the new group of “Pirkhei Cohanim” (young priests) participated in the Temple Institute’s annual Shavuot reenactment at a festive event on Jerusalem’s Hass Promenade overlooking the Temple Mount.
GERMANY- A new study by the University of Leipzig sheds a worrying light on the depth of racist and authoritarian beliefs in German society. One in every ten Germans wants their country to be led by a 'Führer' (dictator) who applies a firm hand for the common good. Eleven percent of respondents say that Jews have too much influence in society. Twelve percent think Germans are by nature superior to other people. Four in ten people think Muslims should be prohibited from immigrating to the country.
GERMANY - German Justice Minister Heiko Maas has promised to crackdown on the growing problem of multiple, forced, and underage marriages that immigrants from developing countries are bringing with them – but which have often been ignored by authorities. “No one who comes to us has the right to put their cultural roots or their religious beliefs above our laws,” the politician from the center-left SPD party told Bild newspaper on Tuesday. “No multiple marriages will be allowed to be recognized in Germany,” insisted Maas.