Syria rebels free kidnapped nuns

A group of Greek Orthodox nuns kidnapped by rebels in the Syrian Christian town of Maaloula in December have been released.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bbc.co.uk

Syria crisis: Kidnapped nuns released in prisoner deal

BBC NewsSyria crisis: Kidnapped nuns released in prisoner dealBBC NewsA group of Greek Orthodox nuns kidnapped by rebels in the Syrian Christian town of Maaloula in December have been released. The 13 nuns and their three helpers were said to have been freed as part of a prisoner exchange. The women have been taken ...Kidnapped Syrian nuns releasedXinhuaSyrian rebels release nuns held since DecemberTimes of IndiaNuns Held by Syrian Rebels ReleasedVoice of AmericaThe Daily Star -RTT News -CTV Newsall 86 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bbc.co.uk

Greek Orthodox Nuns Freed

A pro-Syrian government news network and Lebanese State media reported that the thirteen Greek Orthodox nuns and three maids that were kidnapped ... The chief of an opposition group based in London told CNN he had confirmed that al-Nusra Front ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT world.greekreporter.com

Greece, lenders will miss deadline for loan deal

ATHENS: Greece and its international lenders will miss a self-imposed March 10 deadline to clinch a deal that will release the next tranche of the country’s rescue loans, three senior Greek government sources said.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thestar.com.my

A new narrative for Europe

by  Jimmy Jamar

Berlin, Germany. Friday 28 February 2014. Presentation of “a New Narrative for Europe”, with J. M. Barroso and 300 artists, in the studios of the Icelandic/Danish sculptor Olafur Elisasson. An old warehouse in Prenzlauer Berg. Green and white tiles. Impressive light projections. 

The “New Narrative” was drafted by a cultural committee, composed of artists and scientists from all over the continent, who worked for nearly a year, with large-scale meetings in Brussels, Warsaw and Milano. 

“Europe is a state of mind formed and fostered by its spiritual, philosophical, artistic and scientific inheritance, and driven by the lessons of history (…)

Europe is a state of mind that goes beyond a grouping of Nation States, an internal market and the geographical contours of a continent. Europe is a moral and political responsibility, which must be carried out, not only by institutions and politicians, but by each end every citizen (…)

Europe is a state of mind shared by citizens across the continent. The students, researchers, scholars, artists, professionals and politicians who live, study work, think and journey across national borders, do so in order to deepen and expand their knowledge, unleash their creativity, and widen their opportunities. “.

Strong messages indeed. But the facts are there: on 25 May, a substantial part of the “citizens” to whom the document is addressed will vote against precisely that vision of Europe, denying it the qualification of being a “state of mind”. They will reject it for many good or, often, bad reasons: because of the crisis, because they are out of a job, because they believe that Europe is responsible for everything.

During the evening, representatives of all artistic and scientific fields stood up to propose their ideas, ward off the bad omens, repeat and emphasise the messages of their common work. 

An Italian journalist: “We must do away with Europe Day, transforming it into a Non-Europe Day, to show people what the lives of people would look like without the Union”. 

A Belgian artist: “We need a commitment. An effort to commit. The conviction that we are doing something useful. That we are creating something else, something new.  To enable the beneficiaries of the project to be fully part of the picture, to give them the impression that they also can decide”.

An Italian video producer: “We need to stop with these preconceived products prepared by communication agencies who gain extravagant sums of money. We need to create new products to carry the New Narrative messages. Make short videos on Europe, on the life of Europe. Different for every country, because our countries are different. Share experiences. Involve different media. Call upon the creativity of young people. And, above all: go viral!”

An Italian painter: “Focus on the image. The images of Europe. People who believe in it and people who don’t. Don’t be afraid of diverging views. Speak up with confidence”.

A Scottish festival director: “We need to break the barrier of humour. Or rather: we need to find ways to integrate humour in the ways we communicate. Recapture the spirit of Europe, through laughter and derision. Recapture the European dream.”

A Greek scholar: “The most important value in Europe is its cultural heritage. This asset comprises three time elements: past, present and future. We need to consider these three elements together. Values, coherence, symbols, jobs, messages, construction, re-construction. Presence, oblivion, hope, impatience, respect. Build, debate, believe, do not despair. Fight stereotypes. Create empathy. Understand that things are not given once and for all. Recall that we are born and live free in this space, at this moment of time. Remember that it was not always that way. Remember that at this very moment, in numerous other countries, some of them only distant by a few hundred kilometres, people are fighting to acquire or maintain the principles of democracy. These principles, even in our countries, can never be taken for granted. We need to move fast. Without concessions. Recalling that in our countries, fed for a long time by the benefits - and illusions - of growth, adverse forces are now beginning to act, as they have always been. Do not give up!” 

The President of the European Commission: “We need to recall that Europe is a universal principle. We need to consider this without fear, but also without chauvinism”. 

So much for the challenges, recalled in an artist’s studio- in this special place, a school of art and architecture that hosts 90 artists from all over the world. So much for the challenges recalled, in a town that lived through so many things: Isherwood, Mann, Brecht, Benjamin, and all those who rebuilt it after the storms. They knew what they were doing, what they had to do. It’s up to us now to take over, to ensure that the strong commitments of the New Narrative are not reduced to mere pious hopes.

“Europe”, says the New Narrative in conclusion, “needs brave, imaginative and enlightened political leaders who speak and understand the language of Europe as a political body, animated and energized by culture.

Europe also needs artists and scientists, educators and journalists, historians and sociologists, entrepreneurs and civil servants who are prepared to move beyond the comfort of their autonomy to take on new responsibilities towards Europe as a political body.

Finally, Europe needs citizens to raise their voices and to take part in the European public space of debate by sharing their stories and concerns. These narratives will tell the story of what it means to be a European in the 21st century”.

Nothing more, nothing less. We need now to endorse this narrative, which was repeated the next day by President Barroso and Chancellor Merkel in the glass-paved façade of the Academy of the Arts, looking  onto the Brandenburg Gate – that other monumental symbol of European history, with its demons and its stories, its innumerable dead, and all those who have fought to bring us to where we are.  “Without Europe”, recalled the Chancellor, “in Germany today we would never have experienced the happiness of living this together”.

We need to repeat this endlessly, in the confusing and worrying ordeal currently taking place in Kiev, in remembrance of the dead of Maïdan, and of all those who have believed in this unique endeavour, a story of peace, of values, of fallen walls, of democratic opportunities. We need to repeat, above all, in the troubled atmosphere of rising populism, that nothing - I repeat, nothing - , is granted for ever.

 

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.neurope.eu

Syrian rebels release group of nuns from Greek Orthodox convent held captive since December

Lebanon's official news agency says Syrian rebels have released a group of about a dozen Greek Orthodox nuns who have been held since December.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.foxnews.com

Nick Clegg forced to clarify post-election plans

Spokesman says Liberal Democrat leader will remain in post until 2020, regardless of whether party forms another coalition

Nick Clegg has been forced to make clear that he would remain leader of the Liberal Democrats until 2020, regardless of whether he succeeded in taking his party back into government at the general election.

Amid speculation in Lib Dem circles that Clegg would quit if he failed to establish a second coalition next year, a spokesman for the deputy prime minister said he intended to remain leader "through the whole of the parliament".

Clegg, who told the Lib Dem spring conference he wanted to return the party to office as the "guardians of a modern, open and tolerant Britain", issued a statement after apparent signals that he might stand down if he failed to form another coalition. Clarifying his plans, a spokesman for the deputy prime minister said: "Nick Clegg intends to be the leader of the Liberal Democrats today, tomorrow, into the 2015 election and through the whole of the next parliament. He intends to be leader of the Liberal Democrats whether or not we're in government."

The deputy prime minister will fight hard to maintain the party's base at next year's general election in the hope he will once again hold the balance of power. But it is widely believed among Lib Dems that Clegg, who will be 48 at the election, will pursue a new career if he fails.

The spokesman for the deputy prime minister initially appeared to lend credence to this thinking when he confirmed only that Clegg would remain leader if the Lib Dems formed another coalition. Before the later statement, he said: "It is for the British people to decide if the Liberal Democrats are back in government again. But if the Liberal Democrats are back in government again then Nick Clegg intends to serve a full term."

Clegg enjoyed strong support at the spring conference in York, with delegates giving him a standing ovation at the end of his speech in which he spoke of his love for Britain and cast the Lib Dems as the only enthusiastic pro-EU party.

But the question over his future intentions is focusing attention on possible successors.

Tim Farron, the Lib Dem president who is waging an energetic Twitter campaign to reach out to the party grassroots, was a highly visible presence throughout the weekend and is expected try to win from the left in the next leadership contest.

Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury who would be seen as the centrist continuity candidate, was the only cabinet minister to be singled out for praise in Clegg's speech.

The deputy prime minister said his party had an important role to act as a restraining influence on both Labour and the Tories in government. He said Labour could not be trusted on the economy because they were the party of "profligacy". The Tories wanted to embark on a "remorseless shrinking of our public services" and would force the working age poor to suffer "especially tough sacrifices" with £12bn of extra welfare cuts in the next parliament.

Clegg said: "When I tell you that we need to get back into government again – protecting Britain from one-party rule – this is why: we are the guardians of a modern, open and tolerant Britain … We are the only party who will not ask the British people to choose between a stronger economy and a fairer society."

He warned of a dangerous lurch to the far right on continental Europe but made a point of distinguishing Ukip from the likes of the Front National in France and Golden Dawn in Greece. He said: "These are not far flung places. This is our backyard. The forces of chauvinism, protectionism and xenophobia have been emboldened. And there is no doubt about it: the fight is now on for the future direction of our continent."

But he did warn that Ukip embodied a "backwards looking politics".

He said: "We are lucky. Thankfully we do not have the same extremism here in the UK. But that's not to say the fight isn't on for the future of our country too. An ungenerous, backwards looking politics has emerged in Britain."

The deputy prime minister said that his enthusiastic support for the EU, which helps to guarantee millions of jobs, is explained by his love of Britain. Clegg, whose mother is Dutch, reeled off a list of national quirks, including the way in which people nowhere near the sea listen to the shipping forecast and that people wear flip flops even when it is cold.

He said: "I love Britain. I love it for all its contradictions. I love that we are as modest as we are proud.

"I love that a country capable of extraordinary pomp and ceremony can still retain a spiky irreverence towards its establishment. A country where we line the streets waving our Union Jacks wildly to welcome the arrival of Prince George, and the next moment we're chuckling at Private Eye's front page: 'Woman Has Baby'."

Nick CleggLiberal DemocratsGeneral election 2015Nicholas Watttheguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com