Strictly European.

Turkish nationalists have said Muslim prayers inside the ruins of a historic Christian cathedral in a move likely to cause friction with Armenians.

Hundreds of nationalists travelled to the ruins of the 11th Century cathedral at Ani in eastern Turkey to commemorate a Muslim victory there.

The action is being seen as a response to the reopening of another historic Armenian church last month in Turkey.

Armenians from across the world came to hear Mass at the church in Lake Van.

The party said it was following the example of Turkish ruler Alp Arslan, who removed the cathedral's cross and prayed there following his capture of Ani in 1064.

On 19 September, Armenian worshippers held a service at the island church in Lake Van for the first time in nearly 100 years.

The church, on an island in the lake, was damaged during the mass killing of Armenians during World War I.

It was restored by the Turkish government in 2007 and turned into a museum.

Turkey allowed the Mass to take place in the hope it would be seen as a gesture of reconciliation but some denounced the move as a publicity stunt.

Some Christians did not attend the service, complaining that the Turkish authorities had refused to place a cross on the roof of the building.

Originally Posted by FineTunes

If you want to include Turkey as part of Europe then:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11454014

Originally Posted by segovius

Not strictly Europe - the Europe/Asia divide runs through Istanbul so although technically Turkey is in two continents this happened thousands of miles away nearer to Iran.

The ancient pagan tradition of Druidry has been formally recognized as a religion in Britain a decision its followers hailed Saturday as as a long-overdue status for the worship of spirits and the natural world.

The Druid Network, a group of about 350 Druids, will receive exemptions from taxes on donations after the semi-governmental Charity Commission granted it charitable status just like mainstream religions such as the Church of England.

To register as a religious charity in England, an organization must satisfy requirements that include belief in a supreme entity, a degree of cohesion and seriousness, and a beneficial moral framework.

Druids have practiced for thousands of years in Britain, worshipping natural forces such as thunder and the sun, and spirits they believe arise from places such as mountains and rivers.

"There is sufficient belief in a supreme being or entity to constitute a religion for the purposes of charity law," the Charity Commission said.

It took nearly five years for the charities regulator to decide on the Druids' status, said Phil Ryder, who chairs the Druid Network.

"There were a lot of problems and we had to go into a lot of explanations ... it was just a matter of them trying to understand it," he said. "It will go a long way to make Druidry a lot more accessible. We now have an added level of validity, which is quite important to us."

Originally Posted by FineTunes

On a more European flavor:
October 2, 2010

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...ryId=130288313

A pact to allow Dutch centre-right parties to form a government with the support of anti-Islamist populist Geert Wilders has cleared another hurdle.

The Christian Democrats (CDA) ratified the deal at a meeting on Saturday by 68% in favour, with 32% opposed.

As part of its programme, the government will ban the full Islamic veil in the Netherlands, parties say.

However, two CDA lawmakers remain opposed and could yet derail the deal when MPs vote on it later this week.

The agreement, which ends months of deadlock, includes plans for budget cuts of 18bn euros ($24bn; £15bn) by 2015; curbs on immigration; and an increase in the number of police officers.

The deal has angered some CDA MPs who do not want to work with Mr Wilders.

He [Wilders] goes on trial in Amsterdam on Monday on charges of inciting hatred with his film Fitna (division).

The film juxtaposes the Muslim holy book, the Koran, with the 9/11 attacks in which nearly 3,000 people in the US were killed in 2001.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao says his country will continue to support both the euro and European government bonds.

"I have made clear that China supports a stable euro," he said.

He also promised not to cut China's investment in European bonds, despite the recent crisis which has weakened the value of many such bonds.

Mr Wen is visiting Greece, the worst-hit of the 27-nation European Union. He has promised to buy Greek government bonds the next time they went on sale.

Later in the week, the Chinese leader will attend an EU-China, where the subject of the yuan is almost certain to come up.

Artificially low
China is accused of keeping its currency artificially low against other world currencies, particularly the dollar- which makes Chinese goods cheaper on world markets, and non-Chinese goods more expensive within the country.

That argument is hottest in the US, where the House of Representatives has backed legislation that in theory paves the way for trade sanctions on China.

Mr Wen urged the EU to recognise China as a market economy, something that would make it less vulnerable to anti-dumping charges under World Trade Organization rules.

He added that despite its growth China remained an emerging economy: "Per capita GDP is just one eighth of Greece's and the percentage of population below the poverty line is three times that of Greece. China continues to be an emerging country."

China's economic growth slowed to an annual rate of 10.3% in the second quarter of the year, from 11.9% in the first quarter.

The government is targeting growth of 8% for the year as a whole.

Mr Wen urged the EU to recognise China as a market economy, something that would make it less vulnerable to anti-dumping charges under World Trade Organization rules.

He added that despite its growth China remained an emerging economy: "Per capita GDP is just one eighth of Greece's and the percentage of population below the poverty line is three times that of Greece. China continues to be an emerging country."

China's economic growth slowed to an annual rate of 10.3% in the second quarter of the year, from 11.9% in the first quarter.

The government is targeting growth of 8% for the year as a whole.

LONDON (AP) -- Britain will cap payments to jobless families and scrap child benefits for high earners in a sweeping overhaul of the country's welfare system, Treasury chief George Osborne said Monday.

Osborne, who is seeking to save about 86 billion pounds ($135 billion) in government spending over the next five years, said the cost of welfare payments was out of control -- and rewarding some people for staying out of work.

Originally Posted by jazzguru

UK cuts child benefit payments in austerity drive

Geert Wilders: "I am sitting here as a suspect because I have spoken... nothing but the truth"
The Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders has gone on trial in Amsterdam accused of inciting hatred against Muslims.

Mr Wilders, whose statements have included comparing the Koran with Hitler's Mein Kampf, told the court freedom of expression was on trial.

If found guilty, he faces a maximum sentence of a year in jail.

Prosecutors have brought five charges of inciting hatred and discrimination, and the trial will scrutinise statements he made between 2006 and 2008.

A verdict in the trial is expected on 4 November.

The Japanese government has issued a terror alert to its citizens in Europe, following similar warnings from the UK and US.

The foreign ministry in Tokyo urged people to exercise caution when using public transport or visiting tourist sites.

Security sources warned last week of potential plots on the scale of the Mumbai attacks in 2008.

US authorities have cited France, Germany and the UK as possible targets.

The US state department said on Sunday that a "variety of means and weapons" might be used against official and private interests.

The British Foreign Office said that there was a "high threat" of attack in France and Germany and the government said the threat level in the UK remained at severe.

More governments have joined the US and UK in issuing travel warnings to their citizens about travelling in Europe, amid fears that al-Qaeda plans to attack cities on the continent.

Sweden and Japan urged their nationals to be vigilant when using public transport or visiting tourist sites.

Security sources warned last week of potential plots on the scale of the Mumbai attacks in 2008.

LEOGANG, Austria (AFP) Wearers of spectacular beards and moustaches gathered in the Austrian town of Leogang for a Europe-wide facial hair contest, organisers said.
Around 150 participants from eight countries fought for 17 titles at the European Beard and Moustache Championship in the town high in the Austrian Alps on Saturday.
Categories included "Freestyle Beard", "Natural Moustache" and "Verdi", a beard in the style of the famous 19th century Italian composer Giuseppi Verdi.

Householders in Didcot have become the first in the UK to use gas made from their own human waste and supplied via the national grid to heat their homes.

Up to 200 Oxfordshire homes will be using biomethane made from sewage they had flushed away three weeks earlier.

British Gas, Thames Water and Scotia Gas Networks now hope to roll out the process across the UK.

Up to 500,000 public sector jobs could go by 2014-15 as a result of the cuts programme, according to the Office for Budgetary Responsibility.

Originally Posted by jazzguru

Spending Review: Osborne wields ax

The key announcements:

About 490,000 public sector jobs likely to be lost

Average 19% four-year cut in departmental budgets

Structural deficit to be eliminated by 2015

£7bn in additional welfare budget cuts

Police funding cut by 4% a year

Retirement age to rise from 65 to 66 by 2020

English schools budget protected; £2bn extra for social care

NHS budget in England to rise every year until 2015

Regulated rail fares to rise 3% above inflation

Bank levy to be made permanent

Originally Posted by segovius

Thank you Right Wing Tory Government.

Thank you for sacking all those people and axing public services.

Thank you for letting the bankers continue with their bonuses and letting the rich maintain their tax loopholes.

Thanks you for not being Lefties.

The Analytical Engine followed Babbage's work on the Difference Engine
A UK campaign to build a truck-sized, prototype computer first envisaged in 1837 is gathering steam.

Originally Posted by trumptman

Seg Reasoning:

We ran out of other people's money to steal and spend.

Those people are assholes.

Goldman Sachs was accused of mind-boggling insensitivity yesterday after signalling that its typical worker can expect to earn £314,000 in salary and bonuses this year.

The champagne rewards from the bank will anger ordinary workers on the day Chancellor George Osborne unveils the most draconian austerity measures since the 1920s.

Despite seeing profits plunge 40 per cent between July and September, Goldman Sachs has set aside £8.3billion for salary, bonuses and other perks so far this year.

Originally Posted by segovius

The cuts are already starting to bite in the UK...

already one poor employer has had to cut Xmas

because of difficult financial circumstances.........

but only for staff....

Originally Posted by FineTunes

Seg, HM QE II did not cancel Xmas, only the Xmas party.

The UK Supreme Court http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk/index.html set new precedent Wednesday by ruling http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk/docs/...1_Judgment.pdf in favor of recognizing a pre-nuptial agreement during divorce proceedings. The decision affirmed an appellate court decision [judgment, PDF; JURIST report] that honored a pre-nuptial agreement between German heiress Katrin Radmacher and her ex-husband, which was intended to shield her assets. The Supreme Court made no distinction between the timing of marriage agreements, stating: "If parties who have made such an agreement, whether ante-nuptial or post-nuptial, then decide to live apart, we can see no reason why they should not be entitled to enforce their agreement." However, the court did emphasize the importance of courts reviewing the facts of each case to ensure that the agreement was fair and made freely by both parties. Critics of the ruling argue that the court went beyond its role of interpreting laws [Telegraph report] by creating a new law. UK divorce courts have traditionally not taken [backgrounder] pre-nuptial agreements into account when dividing marital assets. Instead, the courts have assessed the financial needs of the couple and any dependents in an effort to protect the financially weaker partner. The Supreme Court ruling suggests that recognition of pre-nuptial contracts is in line with the British approach to contracts generally.

The ruling brings UK law in line with other European countries' treatment of pre-nuptial agreements. In March, the European Commission (EC) [official website] proposed reforms [JURIST report] to simplify and clarify international divorce laws. Under the proposal, married couples from different EU countries could choose the country of the divorce, and the various courts would use a common formula to decide which country's law applies when a couple disagrees. The measure, supported by 10 countries [BBC report], was first debated [JURIST report] in January amid concerns [press release] about potential unfairness in cross-border divorces, since the law across the member countries varied significantly.

Originally Posted by jazzguru

Cafe owner ordered to remove extractor fan because neighbour claimed 'smell of frying bacon offends Muslims'

Mrs Akciecek and her husband Cetin, 50, - himself a Turkish Muslim - work more than 50 hours a week buying, preparing and cooking hot and cold sandwiches and hot-pots for their customers.
Today mother-of-seven Mrs Akciecek said she plans to appeal against the decision.
She said: 'I just think it's crazy. Cetin's friends actually visit the shop, they're regular visitors, they're Muslim people, they come in a couple of times a week.
'I have Muslim people come in for cheese toasties. Cetin cooks the food himself, he cooks the bacon.

Originally Posted by segovius

What you have to realize here is that this is the Daily Mail.

You may not be familiar with it but in the UK it has a track record of racism and xenophobia and is mainly aimed at the Right-wing who are the only people who buy it. Nobody takes it seriously and most stories are known to be fictitious.

Originally Posted by segovius

On the day that the Tories in the UK announced 500,000 job losses and £81 Billion cuts on public spending there was another announcement:

Goldman Sachs announce £8.3bn bonus

Originally Posted by Mumbo Jumbo

No, we bailed out the banks for billions of pounds.

While they have record bonusses we have to face billions of pounds worth of cuts in our public services.

We have run out of our money because they stole it from us. The Conservatives are fucking arseholes.

The Royal Navy's newest and largest attack submarine HMS Astute has run aground off the Isle of Skye.

Originally Posted by jazzguru

The senators approved President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, and it could become law as early as next week.

Mr Sarkozy says the measure is necessary to reduce the deficit.

But hundreds of thousands have protested against what they see as an attack on their rights.

Senators passed the motion to raise the retirement age by 177 votes to 153, after the government used a special measure known as a guillotine to cut short the debate on the bill.