Britain -250 jihadists reportedly return to UK - "EU must expel Imams and Preachers discussing politics and inflammatory issues"

Around 250 British jihadists have returned to the UK after training and fighting in Syria, a senior Whitehall security official told the Sunday Times. Security services are monitoring the “extremist tourists”, fearing they might carry out attacks at home.

Ministers have been informed that more than 400 Britons went to Syria to engage in militant activities, and “Well over half of those who traveled out have come back,” the official told the Times.

Senior security officials say the number of “returnees” is now five times the previously reported figure, highlighting the growing threat of so–called ‘extremist tourists’ going to warzones and returning home hardened militants.

"For some, their jihad is done, others will help others travel to Syria, while others will raise funds for fighting," the Whitehall source said.

The security services are said to be closely monitoring the 250 returnees, who include several veteran hardliners who have fought in Afghanistan or Pakistan. Many others have participated in combat or received training in munitions or other skills applicable to terror operations, with some exhibiting a willingness to carry out attacks in the UK, security officials cited in the report said.

“There are a few hundred people going out there. They may be injured or killed, but our biggest worry is when they return they are radicalized, they may be militarized, they may have a network of people that train them to use weapons,” London police chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe told the paper.

Note EU-Digest: more attention needs to be given by the EU Commission, the EU Parliament and member state Governments as to some of the "sermons" preached by Islamic Imams and Preachers - especially those who discuss political issues and matters which are inflammatory and have nothing to do with religion. 

Read more: Op-Edge

Saudi Arabia - Islam: Imams exploiting politics in sermons should be fired - says Ministry of Islamic Affairs

JEDDAH - SAUDI ARABIA

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance is in the process of imposing penalties on imams and preachers who discuss political issues and matters of creed or those who implicitly or explicitly defame specific individuals or states. Such penalties may include dismissal from job if violations are repeated, say sources.

The ministry has emphasized the fact that their role is confined to preaching and providing guidance in religious spheres and that some of them have given written undertakings pledging that they would not inflame public sentiment by discussing politics during Friday sermons.

The sources said there is a committee at the ministry entrusted with following up on such violations and reporting preachers who have taken advantage of their position to influence public opinion.

The ministry statement follows an incident on Friday at Al-Ferdaous Mosque in Al-Nahda district, Riyadh, where an Egyptian worshipper protested against a preacher denouncing Abdul Fattah El-Sisi, defense minister and army chief of Egypt.

Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Abdulaziz, a former Imam and Preacher, said that mosques are sanctified areas of worship. He said imams should follow the instructions given to them by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

The prayer against El-Sisi, according to one report, prompted the Egyptian to question the preacher, while he was giving the Friday sermon. This infuriated other worshippers who tried to push the Egyptian out of the mosque.

Imams exploiting politics in sermons face the sack | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.

Eurozone recovery still slow, but Germany and France doing better than expected

Europe's overall economy may be weak, but eurozone growth continues.

Indeed it was slightly stronger-than-expected in the bloc’s two biggest economies – Germany and France – in the final three months of last year.

Analysts said the growth was mainly driven by exports and investment.
German GDP expanded 0.4 percent from the previous quarter, France’s by 0.3 percent and Italy’s by 0.1 percent

The figures, from Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office, show 0.3 percent growth region-wide compared to the previous quarter.

Upwardly revised third quarter numbers meant France managed to avoid slipping back into recession and had growth of 0.3 percent for the whole of last year.

French company and public investment rose and household spending recovered. But the finance minister said faster growth was needed to create more jobs with unemployment at nearly 11 percent.

Italy, which is once again in political turmoil, dragged itself back to growth for the first time since mid-2011.

But the final quarter’s 0.1 percent expansion was not enough to keep GDP from contracting by 1.9 percent over the whole of 2013.

One positive sign is that – significantly – for the first time in almost three years, all of the six largest eurozone economies did manage quarterly expansions.

Read more: Eurozone recovery still slow, but Germany and France doing better than expected | euronews, economy

Russia: Since his ‘formal’ return to power in May 2012 – was he ever really away?

President Vladimir Putin has been eager to restore Russia’s superpower status to distract from domestic problems. Russian leaders have traditionally demonstrated Moscow’s clout first in the post-Soviet space, particularly in Eastern Europe.

The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) and the Warsaw Pact have today been replaced by the Eurasian Union and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The question is how should the EU respond to this new geopolitical competition with Moscow?

Faced with domestic difficulties, autocratic governments often strive for foreign successes to divert attention and shore up public support. This was the case when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in the early 1980s and Putin’s actions today are not much different. Russia is confronted with huge problems in education, housing and health services, not to mention the anarchy and bloodshed in the Northern Caucasus.

Well-educated young people are taking to the streets demanding a share of the Kremlin’s welfare.

Putin hasn’t addressed these domestic challenges head on, focusing instead on foreign policy. At first, Russia became increasingly isolated because of its stance on Syria and Iran, but thanks to clever Russian diplomacy and a hesitant U.S., Moscow achieved remarkable successes in 2013 like the chemical weapons deal on Syria and the interim nuclear agreement on Iran. And in Eastern Europe, Ukraine ‘chose’ to deepen co-operation with Russia instead of forging closer ties with the EU.

Eastern Europe is divided into two spheres of influence. The EU uses its Eastern Partnership (EaP) to promote co-operation with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine. It is not a waiting room for EU membership, but a project to enhance these countries’ stability and prosperity and to ensure safe borders for the EU.

On the other side, Russia has the Eurasian Union-to-be (EaU) and the CSTO. For now, the EaU is nothing but a customs union that includes Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, but the Kremlin intends to bring in Ukraine and some other former Soviet republics to form a competitor to the EU. The CSTO is Russia’s military instrument in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and includes a military assistance clause to prevent an attack on any of its member states. The basis of Putin’s foreign and security policy objectives – as laid down in Russian security documents – is that Russia has privileged interests in the former Soviet republics and therefore the right to intervene.

The issues at stake in Eastern Europe are a complicated web of political, military, economic and energy issues. From the start, the Kremlin denounced the EaP as an unacceptable project, seeing it as the EU’s way of drawing Eastern Europe away from Russia and into the Western orbit. As a result, pro-EU governments in Moldova and Georgia suffered boycotts – as Ukraine, too, felt this last summer, before President Viktor Yanukovich realigned from Brussels to Moscow. In the same vein, Georgia’s intention to join NATO in 2008 was a step too far for Moscow and the Russian invasion of Georgia put an end to this plan, at least for many years to come.

On the economic front, energy rules. Despite the EU’s claims to have a common energy policy, Moscow successfully divides and rules the EU member states. The European Commission has launched a legal case against Russia’s energy giant Gazprom for monopolistic action in the new Eastern EU states, which are highly dependent on Russian gas. What’s more, Moscow is doing everything it can to thwart the EU’s project to construct pipelines directly to Azerbaijan and possibly Central Asia in order to wean itself from dependence on Russian gas. Russia’s own alternative pipelines to circumvent the current one through Ukraine – Nord Stream to Germany and South Stream around the Black Sea – are yet another way to try to undermine the EU’s common energy policy.

So how can the EU win the geopolitical game with Moscow? The answer to this is quite simple and is to be found in European unity and vigour. For too long Brussels has failed to do so and Moscow has exploited this with its ‘divide and rule’ policy in Europe. The EU should be much more aware of Russia’s foreign policy objectives and anticipate its actions. If the EU is more cognizant of Russia opposition to the EaP, then it could take measures to soften Moscow’s boycotts of EaP member states.

The EU claims to stand for democracy and human rights and Brussels should therefore go beyond merely making statements and actively support human rights groups and the political opposition in Russia as well as in Ukraine. And instead of bi-lateral energy deals with Moscow, all 28 EU member states together should sign one gas contract with Russia and collectively support gas pipelines to bypass the Russian ones.

With a genuinely cohesive energy policy, the EU will strengthen its political manoeuvrability vis-à-vis the Kremlin, and thus bolster its endeavours in the field of human rights and democracy. Such policies will show former Soviet republics that the EU has much more to offer them than Moscow’s alternative Eurasian Union.

Note EU-Digest:  Marcel de Haas is a Senior Researcher at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael

EU-Digest

Italy: Matteo Renzi tipped to be new Italy PM as Letta quits

Matteo Renzi (39) tipped as new Italian PM

Italy is looking for a new prime minister again after Enrico Letta’s resignation was accepted by President Giorgio Napolitano.

Letta drove himself to the presidential residence, the Quirinale in Rome – amid yet more political turmoil in the country.

Letta announced on Thursday that he would stand down after a meeting of his centre-left Democratic Party (PD) voted in favour of changing the government.

The man expected to take over as prime minister is the new party leader Matteo Renzi, 39. He could be named premier as soon as this weekend, and would be the country’s youngest-ever leader.

The president is now beginning meetings with political parties to find a solution to the leadership crisis and pave the way for a new government.

There has been growing criticism over the slow pace of economic reform in Italy which left Letta increasingly isolated.

A low-key moderate, he was appointed in April last year to lead the cross-party coalition patched together after deadlocked elections had brought weeks of fruitless wrangling between rival parties.

Letta did not attend Thursday’s party meeting, which was brought forward from next week.

Read more: Matteo Renzi tipped to be new Italy PM as Letta quits | euronews, world news

Stock Markets Warning: Stocks Will Plunge by 50% this year

t is only a matter of time before the stock market plunges by 50% or more, according to several reputable experts.

“We have no right to be surprised by a severe and imminent stock market crash,” explains Mark Spitznagel, a hedge fund manager who is notorious for his hugely profitable billion-dollar bet on the 2008 crisis. “In fact, we must absolutely expect it."

Unfortunately Spitznagel isn’t alone.

“We are in a gigantic financial asset bubble,” warns Swiss adviser and fund manager Marc Faber. “It could burst any day.”

Faber doesn’t hesitate to put the blame squarely on President Obama’s big government policies and the Federal Reserve’s risky low-rate policies, which, he says, “penalize the income earners, the savers who save, your parents — why should your parents be forced to speculate in stocks and in real estate and everything under the sun?”

Billion-dollar investor Warren Buffett is rumored to be preparing for a crash as well. The “Warren Buffett Indicator,” also known as the “Total-Market-Cap to GDP Ratio,” is breaching sell-alert status and a collapse may happen at any moment.

So with an inevitable crash looming, what are Main Street investors to do?

One option is to sell all your stocks and stuff your money under the mattress, and another option is to risk everything and ride out the storm.

But according to Sean Hyman, founder of Absolute Profits, there is a third option.

“There are specific sectors of the market that are all but guaranteed to perform well during the next few months,” Hyman explains. “Getting out of stocks now could be costly.”

Read more: Warning: Stocks Will Collapse by 50

NSA Spying on Europeans: Specter of US spying looms large in Germany

NSA is always present

When the German version of the FBI needs to share sensitive information these days, it types it up and has it hand-delivered.

This time last year, it would have trusted in the security of email. But last year was before Edward Snowden and the public revelations of the scope of the National Security Agency's PRISM electronic intelligence-gathering program. After Snowden, or post-PRISM, is a new digital world.

"We're now carrying our information to our allies on foot," said Peter Henzler, the vice president of the Bundeskriminalamt, known as the BKA. He was speaking recently at a German Interior Ministry panel on the country's digital future. The focus of the panel was how to counter U.S. surveillance measures and what it will take for Germans to be safe again on the Web. "We're no longer using the open Internet."

The message is clear: The United States no longer can be trusted not to spy on any and every facet of German life and policy. Henzler's concerns might sound extreme, but he was hardly alone on his panel, and the worries appear to be an accurate reflection of the wider German, and even European, concern about the reach of the NSA's surveillance program.

Hardly a week passes here without some new revelation about the dastardly depths to which the American spy program invaded German privacy, or at least a new way in which to react to the scandal.

Last week, for instance, the news broke that the United States had tapped the cellphone of Gerhard Schroeder when he was the German chancellor from 1998 to 2005. Given that it's been four months since news broke that the same American surveillance program was tapping the cellphone of the current chancellor, Angela Merkel, and had been tapping her phone for several years before she was chancellor, the revelation could hardly have been surprising.

Merkel, after all, was seen as an American ally. Schroeder, who sharply criticized U.S. intentions and efforts in Iraq and was visibly uncomfortable in the presence of then-President George W. Bush, was seen as something less than an American booster.

But there are many more examples, beyond the news stories: Thirty-two percent of Germans tell pollsters they've either left or reduced their time on Facebook for fear of spying. German television ads note the peace of mind and freedom that come with email that doesn't leave European servers. Providers very publicly say that they now encrypt all email. Anti-surveillance NSA protests are common in Berlin.

Such thoughts aren't limited to Germany. A $900 million French deal with the United Arab Emirates for two new intelligence satellites appears to be in doubt after the buyers noticed U.S. components in the French satellites that they feared could compromise their data.

Florian Glatzner, a policy officer with the German Federal Consumer Protection Agency, said they were fielding a lot of consumer questions about how to ensure that their communications and data were safe from the electronic spying of the NSA.

"A lot of the trust in the big Internet companies is gone," he said. "And most of the big Internet companies were based in the United States."

Read more at msn news