Angela Merkel's conservatives suffer worst election result since WWII
GERMANY - Anti-euro Alternative for Germany (AfD) party looked set to win its first seats in a regional assembly in west of the country. Germany’s rapidly rising Eurosceptics have dealt a fresh embarrassing blow to Angela Merkel’s ruling Christian Democrats party in state elections in Hamburg. Alternative for Germany (AfD), which wants to force crisis-hit countries such as Greece out of the single currency, looked likely to win its first seats in a west German parliament.
The AfD vote was hovering just above the 5 per cent threshold needed to win seats in parliament in initial projections based on a partial vote count. The AfD made significant gains from Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democrats, who saw their share of the vote fall by a projected 5.9 per cent in one of their worst results in recent times.
Hamburg, one of three city states along with Berlin and Bremen, has been a fortress for the centre-left Social Demoracts since the Second World War, and the winner of the vote was never in doubt. But this was the first time support for the AfD has been tested in a west German state, after it made striking gains in the less affluent east last year.
It is also the first election since the anti-Islam and anti-immigrant Pegida movement swept though the German political scene. Unlike Eurosceptic parties in other countries, the AfD is not opposed to the EU, but wants an end to the single currency, starting with the expulsion of poorly performing economies like Greece.
Islamic State Sprouting Limbs Beyond Its Base
MIDDLE EAST - The Islamic State is expanding beyond its base in Syria and Iraq to establish militant affiliates in Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt and Libya, American intelligence officials assert, raising the prospect of a new global war on terror.
Intelligence officials estimate that the group’s fighters number 20,000 to 31,500 in Syria and Iraq. There are less formal pledges of support from “probably at least a couple hundred extremists” in countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Yemen, according to an American counterterrorism official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential information about the group.
Lieutenant General Vincent R Stewart, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said in an assessment this month that the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, was “beginning to assemble a growing international footprint.” Critics fear such assessments will once again enmesh the United States in a protracted, hydra-headed conflict as President Obama appeals to Congress for new war powers to fight the Islamic State.
Holocaust Survivor Wiesel Urges Obama to Hear Netanyahu
USA - Elie Wiesel, an American Nobel Peace Prize winner and survivor of the Holocaust, is featured in a new full-page ad in The New York Times and the Washington Post, supporting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech on Iran to Congress scheduled for March 3. The ad describes the 86-year-old Wiesel's intention to attend the speech "on the catastrophic danger of a nuclear Iran." He decries the decision of at least 22 US lawmakers to boycott the speech.
He asks the president, "Will you join me in hearing the case for keeping weapons from those who preach death to Israel and America?" Wiesel won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 and is a survivor of the death camps at Buchenwald and Auschwitz. In the ad, he relates the actions of present-day Iran to the biblical story of Haman in the book of Esther, who vowed to "annihilate, murder, and destroy the Jews, young and old, children and women."
"The Ayatollah Khameini has been as clear as his predecessor in declaring his goal: 'the annihilation and destruction' of Israel. He is bent on acquiring the weapons needed to make good on the deadly promise," he continued. President Barack Obama has said he will not attend the Netanyahu speech, and the White House has expressed irritation that House Speaker John Boehner issued the invitation during the run-up to Israel's national elections on March 17.
Netanyahu, who has taken heat from both domestic and overseas political adversaries, tweeted this week he is determined to follow through on his invitation to address Congress at this time. The advertisement supporting him was sponsored by New Jersey Rabbi Shumley Boteach. The London Times refused to run the ad.
ISIS Releases Video Featuring Beheading Of 21 Coptic Christians
LIBYA - The Islamic State’s al-Hayat media center has released a five-minute propaganda video showing the mass beheading of 21 Coptic Christians from Libya, a video which follows reports from earlier this week suggesting the atrocity had been carried out. A spokesman in the video indicates that the terror group is now turning its gaze towards Italy.
Titled “A Message Signed With Blood to the Nation of the Cross,” the video depicts the 21 prisoners in the now-familiar orange jumpsuits being led down a beach by 21 ISIS fighters in their equally familiar black outfits. As they kneel in the sand, subtitles indicate that the men are, “the people of the cross, the followers of the hostile Egyptian Church.”
After declaring unity with other international branches of the extended ISIS network, the executions begin. At the end of the video, the camo-clad executioner, knife in bloodied hand, pledges that ISIS will conquer Rome. It’s the second reference to the city which was once center of the Holy Roman Empire – at one point he says that they are situated in the land “South of Rome”.
Islamists on ‘the doorstep of Europe’
LIBYA - The beheading of 21 Coptic Christians on a beach in Libya has brought Isis to the doorstep of Europe. The mass murder, which provoked a volley of Egyptian air strikes on the group’s Libyan stronghold of Derna, realised long-held fears of militants reaching the Mediterranean coast.
Isis started in Iraq and now controls swathes of adjoining Syria, including along the Turkish border, as part of its so-called Islamic State. Its ideology has spread much further, with pledges of allegiance from terrorist groups in Egypt, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Yemen and now Libya.
Aref Ali Nayed, Libya’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, also said Isis’s presence in Libya was increasing “exponentially”. Its military gains last summer sparked a rush by other Islamist groups in the Middle East and North Africa to ally themselves with the group by pledging allegiance and changing their names. The jihadists behind the beheadings in Libya call themselves the Tripoli Province of the Islamic State.
Ukraine crisis: Army and rebels stall heavy arms pullout
UKRAINE - Ukraine's government and separatist rebels have failed to begin withdrawing heavy weapons from the front line, despite a Monday deadline. The two sides were given until two days after the latest truce came into effect to start the pullout. The government said it would not pull back until fighting ended in the beleaguered town of Debaltseve. The leaders of Germany, Ukraine and Russia discussed the crisis in an overnight phone call. Germany said on Tuesday they had agreed "concrete steps" for observers to have greater access, but gave no details. Observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), who are charged with monitoring the ceasefire, have been trying to reach Debaltseve after being denied access by the rebels on Sunday.
Kaspersky Lab details $1 billion online bank heist
RUSSIA - Internet security company Kaspersky Lab says the banking industry could be experiencing “a new era in cybercrime.” The company has been investigating a $1 billion attack on financial institutions by a sophisticated hacking group. The IT security firm says the hackers from the Carabanak group used a complex virus system which was later named after them.
It is not like the simple Trojan horse malware used to by-pass security systems, but something much more complex and unique, according to documents exclusively seen by RT. Anton Shingarev, Chief of Staff at Kaspersky Lab, said the complex nature of the malware used was unprecedented and it was “the most highly sophisticated criminal attack we have ever seen.”
Kaspersky Lab said that most of the victims were located in Russia, the US, Germany, China and Ukraine. The hacking group targeted 30 banks. One customer lost in the region of $7.3 million because of ATM fraud, while another had $10 million stolen due to hackers entering the person’s online banking page.
The money would then be sent to accounts set up mainly in the US and China. “They managed to get access to the whole banking system. They managed to remotely control ATM’s and they managed to transfer money from one account to another. Due to the extreme level of complexity, banks did not realize they were coming under attack,” Shingarev told RT.
China sells fighter jets to Argentina
ARGENTINA - Argentina is to purchase sophisticated Chinese fighter jets able to attack the Falkland Islands as part of a “strategic partnership” with Beijing. The move, which further raised tensions in the South Atlantic last night, follows a three-day visit by President Kristina de Kirchner to Beijing last week, in which Argentina secured 15 economic agreements and significant financial investment to bolster its failing economy.
It comes after a decision by Buenos Aires to abandon talks with Vladimir Putin to secure 12 Sukhoi Su-24 'Fencer" bombers, capable of reaching Port Stanley. Last night sources told the Sunday Express that the deal with Russia, revealed by the Sunday Express in September, had stalled after a series of delays and concerns over post-sale maintenance. However, that failure will see Argentina now take delivery of 20 of the most advanced fighter jets in the world.
Mrs Kirchner has constantly caused concern for the Foreign Office with her campaign to generate international political support for the islands to be returned to Argentina. Last month the Ministry of Defence revealed that the Rapier air defence system currently based on Mount Pleasant to counter any potential air threat is to be upgraded, with sources adding that the “operational drumbeat” of routine deployments is also being increased.
China has pledged more than £162 billion in investments for Latin America over the next five years, and has indicated that it will write off millions loaned several years ago, allowing nations like Argentina to rebuild their economies.
Markets hold breath before crucial Greek debt talks
EUROPE - Global shares hit their highest level since September on Monday and the euro firmed, with investors cautiously optimistic euro zone finance ministers would reach a deal to shore up Greece's dwindling finances. The prospect that Greece and its partners will find common ground in the talks and reach an agreement that would prevent Greece having to leave the euro zone, helped push low-risk government yields higher. However, a rise in the price of safe-haven gold testified to the uncertain outcome.
Ahead of the euro zone finance ministers' meeting, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Sunday he expected difficult negotiations but was "full of confidence". However, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in a radio interview on Monday he was "very skeptical" about the talks.
Tsipras's left-wing Syriza party won parliamentary elections last month on a pledge to scrap austerity measures imposed under Greece's international bailouts. Germany and other euro zone countries say Athens must honor its commitments. The current deal runs out on February 28.
White House cuts Israel out of Iran talks
ISRAEL - A Israeli report claims the US administration has stopped updating Israel about developments in nuclear negotiations between the world power and Iran, allegedly in response to Prime Minister Netanyahu's decision to accept an invitation by Republicans to address Congress on the issue.
According to the report by Israel's Channel 2, US Undersecretary of State, Wendy Sherman, who is involved in the talks has announced she will no longer be updating Israelis about the talks. Susan Rice, US President Obama's National Security Advisor, has also reportedly announced she is cutting ties with her Israeli counterpart, Yossi Cohen, who serves as Netanyahu's National Security Advisor.
US House Speaker John Boehner says the White House might have tried to quash his plan to have Israeli prime minister speak to Congress if it had gotten wind of the invitation. That helps explain why Boehner made the offer to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without letting the White House know in advance. Netanyahu's speech is set for March 3. Some Democrats plan to skip it because they consider it a divisive stunt and a breach of protocol that suggests the US is taking sides in coming Israeli elections.
Boehner was asked by "Fox News Sunday" why he told Israel's ambassador to the United States not to mention the invitation to the White House in advance. Boehner says he "wanted to make sure that there was no interference." “There’s a serious threat facing the world," he told Fox News. "And I believe Prime Minister Netanyahu is the perfect person to deliver the message of how serious this threat is.”
Church of England campaigning for EU integration
UK - The Church of England is preparing to campaign for greater European Union integration, in a move that will anger senior Conservatives ahead of the general election. In a deeply political intervention, the Church has written a letter to the main Westminster parties in which it appears to criticise Conservative policies on the EU as well as Trident.
In extracts of the letter, seen by The Daily Telegraph, Church of England bishops say that there is an “enduring argument for continuing to build structures of trust and cooperation between the nations of Europe”. It raises the prospect of the Church actively campaigning for the EU in the build-up to the in-out referendum promised by David Cameron. In the letter, which is due to be published on Tuesday, the Bishops also take aim at the Trident, saying that the arguments for the nuclear deterrent “need re-examining”.
One Conservative MP said that it is “deeply disturbing” that the Church “appears to be entering the political arena”. Conor Burns, the Conservative MP for Bournemouth West, said: “It is deeply disturbing that the church appears to be entering the political arena based on a series of clear misrepresentations of facts. The call to abandon our nuclear defence in increasingly uncertain times and for more EU integration with no consultation of the British public will rightly cause concern across the country.”
White House warns Europe on Greek showdown
USA - The Obama administration has leapt to the defence of Greece, warning Germany and Europe’s creditor powers that they must meet Athens half-way to avert a potentially dangerous rupture and a euro break-up.
Caroline Atkinson, the US deputy-national security adviser, said the eurozone authorities had imposed the main burden of adjustment on the weaker deficit states and should do more to accept their share of responsibility for the euro crisis. “They have asymmetric rules. They need to make it socially fairer,” she said.
“It is important for creditors to take into account that Greece has had a very sharp drop in incomes, real wages, and output as well as a big rise in unemployment,” she told a gathering at Chatham House in London. Mrs Atkinson said the White House is relieved that “both sides” are starting to pull back from the brink, a clear warning that Washington is just as exasperated with the high-handed approach of eurozone creditors as it is with the leftist Syriza government in Athens.
Pope Francis’ real interest is geopolitics
VATICAN - He’s met with a transgender man, told Catholics not to breed like rabbits and washed the feet of a Muslim woman. While all this may sound like he’s ready to overturn dogma, Pope Francis’ real interest is geopolitics. In less than two years in office, Francis has nudged the conversation away from abusive priests and used the image makeover to wade into such as matters as Cuba-US relations and climate change. In September, he will become the first religious leader who serves as a head of state to address a joint session of Congress. “He’s capitalizing on the fascination that he exercises,” said John Wauck, a professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. “He’s gotten the attention of the world and is using it.”
Clashes between Shi'ite Houthis and Sunnis in Yemen leave 26 dead
YEMEN - Tens of thousands of Yemenis demonstrated in several cities on Saturday against the rule of the Shi'ite Muslim Houthi movement as clashes between Houthis and Sunnis in a southern mountainous region left 26 dead. It was the second day of nationwide demonstrations against the Iranian-backed Houthis in less than a week after their dissolution of parliament this month unraveled security and sent Western and Arab embassies packing.
Houthi gunmen fired on protesters in the central town of Ibb and wounded four, medics said. Activists said they were enraged by the death on Saturday of Saleh al-Bashiri, who they say was detained by gunmen as they broke up an anti-Houthi protest in Sanaa two weeks ago and was released to a hospital with signs of torture on his body on Thursday. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.
Yemen's upheaval has drawn international concern as it shares a long border with top world oil exporter Saudi Arabia. It is also fighting one of the most formidable branches of al Qaeda with the help of US drone strikes. The Houthis say they are trying to drive out corrupt officials and avert economic ruin. They have dissolved parliament and set up their own ruling body earlier this month.
Church tells Christians how they should vote
UK - The Church of England is preparing to publish an extraordinary document advising Christians on voting in the general election. The document – which will provoke yet another row with the Government – suggests Trident should be scrapped, proposes more EU integration and questions parts of the Coalition’s austerity programme.
It claims to offer advice for the country’s 30 million Christians on how to ‘approach the general election’ in May. Billed as a ‘letter from the Church of England’s House of Bishops’, it is ‘addressed to all members of the Church’. Last night Conservative MPs said the ‘manifesto’ was littered with errors and questioned the wisdom of the Church intervening in the political debate so close to an election. The bishops insist it is ‘not a shopping list of policies we would like to see, it is a call for the new direction that we believe our political life ought to take’.
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