Spanish Economy: Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy talks up economic recovery in state of the nation address

Spain’s Prime Minister, gave his annual state of the nation address to the lower house of Spain’s Parliament.

Two thousand and fifteen is a critical year for the prime minister and his centre right People’s Party.

There is a general election in December preceded by local and regional polls in the spring. The electioneering it would appear has got underway.

Read more: Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy talks up economic recovery in state of the nation addresss

Israel: Leaked documents allege Israel PM and Mossad differ on Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the United Nations in 2012, in which he warned Iran was a year away from being able to make a nuclear bomb is at odds with his intelligence service.

The apparent difference of opinion has been highlighted in documents leaked to the television channel Al Jazeera.

Showing a sketch of a bomb to UN delegates the Israeli PM called on the world to draw a “clear red line” over Iran’s nuclear programme to make it back down.

The Mossad leaked document stated Iran was not performing the activity necessary to produce weapons.
An Israeli official said there was, “no discrepancy” between the accounts.

Read more: Leaked documents allege Israel PM and Mossad differ on Iran | euronews, world news

Turkey gets first Christian TV station: by Julia A. Seymour

For the first time, millions of people in Turkey watching government-regulated satellite television will be able to find Christian programming.

Shows created by SAT-7 TÜRK, a satellite TV ministry reaching the Middle East and North Africa, began broadcasting on Turkey’s most-watched satellite, Türksat 4A, in recent weeks, Mission Network News announced. The new channel airs dramas, documentaries, and worship programs, as well as content for women and youth. 

“We are overwhelmed and truly believe it is a miracle that we can finally broadcast on Türksat,” SAT-7 Executive Director Melih Ekener said in a press release. Ekener also said the company had been hoping and praying satellite access since 2006, when it began airing SAT-7 ARABIC.

Note EU-Digest: As Christian TV Comes to Turkey, Martin Luther the great Christian reformer from the 1500's, who modernized Christianity and broke away from the hardline Orthodox Vatican Catholic Church, did away with Latin "only" being spoken from the Pulpit (which no one could understand}, fought for women's rights and abolished celibacy for nuns and priests, comes to mind.

Martin Luther made many profound statements. On what we would today consider freedom of speech he said: "If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.” On faith he said::“We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.” .

Turkey today is a Muslim Nation, but 100 years ago Turkey’s Christian minority made up 25 to 30 percent of the population, this has now dwindled to between 100,000 and 200,000 believers, mostly from the Syrian, Greek, Russian, and Armenian Orthodox traditions. 

Christians around the world hope and pray that this first Christian TV station in Turkey will not only reflect truly modern biblical interpretation and teaching, but also inspire their Muslim Brothers and Sisters to follow Martin Luther's footsteps in seeking refreshing non violent ways to also modernize Islam and may God bless them in these efforts.

Read more: WORLD | Turkey gets first Christian TV station | Julia A. Seymour | Feb. 23, 2015

North Sea Oil and gas industry leaders warn: slump in investment could devastate North Sea - by Mark Williamson

Oil and gas firms will slash investment in the North Sea by around 80 per cent in coming years following the oil price slump potentially leaving parts of the area abandoned, industry leaders have warned.

The cuts in spending could result in billions of barrels resources going unrecovered including 1.7 billion held in existing fields, it is feared.

The warning follows publication of the latest survey of North Sea firms by Oil & Gas UK. This shows the fall in the oil price since June is taking a heavy toll on the area, where firms have radically cut their investment plans over the last year.

The industry body found the UK North Sea industry spent £5.3bn more than it got from oil and gas sales last year, the worst result since the 1970s. The tax take for the UK Government fell by 40 per cent to £2.8bn, the lowest level in more than 20 years.

Oil & Gas UK found annual investment in projects like bringing new fields into production is set to fall from a record £14.8 billion last year to just £2.5bn in 2018.

With the industry facing greater uncertainty than ever, Oil & Gas UK said a number of projects that have been approved may yet be cancelled.

Malcolm Webb, chief executive of Oil & Gas UK, said the survey painted a bleak picture of conditions in an industry that supports hundreds of thousands of highly skilled jobs. Many of these are in Scotland.

Read more: Oil and gas industry leaders warn: slump in investment could devastate North Sea | Herald Scotland

The Netherlands: Europol chief says more cooperation needed to counter terror - by Mike Corder

Intelligence and law enforcement agencies across the European Union have to cooperate better to fight against the threat of terrorism, the head of EU police organization Europol said Monday.

Speaking at a meeting with foreign journalists in the Netherlands, Europol Director Rob Wainwright said his organization can help track extremists, their arms and cash across borders as the continent ramps up its counter terror operations in the aftermath of the deadly attacks this year in Paris
and Copenhagen.

Europol has built up a database of about 3,000 people who traveled to fight in Syria and Iraq — though Wainwright says the number is likely much higher.

Read more: Europol chief says more cooperation needed to counter terror

Greece: No feelgood victory for Germany in debt clash with Greece

Germany's 7-1 drubbing of Brazil in the football World Cup last summer was uncomfortable to watch, even for jubilant Germans whose cheers turned to sheepish smiles as the goals piled up.

The bailout extension deal that Germany and its European partners clinched with Greece on Friday after weeks of public jousting between the countries had a similar feel.

In the end, it looked like a total triumph for the Germans, who forced Alexis Tsipras, Greece's new leftist prime minister, to swallow virtually all of their demands.

But it was not a feel-good victory, nor one that bodes well for a single currency bloc struggling to emerge from a half-decade of financial and economic crisis, and increasingly threatened by populist political forces on the right and left.

Read more:  ekathimerini.com | No feelgood victory for Germany in debt clash with Greece

Crime in trhe EU: The Netherlands Falls Victim to Violent Crime - by Sierra Rayne

With the recent news that the Dutch goverment will be prosecuting Geert Wilders, the leader of the Party for Freedom, for hate speech once again, even a cursory review of what is happening in the Netherlands reveals why Wilders is so concerned. His nation is becoming unrecognizable and deteriorating rapidly.

Over the past 20 years, the violent crime rate has increased an astounding 83 percent in the Netherlands. Almost all of this increase took place before 2005 -- indeed, since 2005 there has been a slight decline in the Dutch violent crime rate, but the levels are still astronomical compared to those seen in the early to mid-1990s.

Between 1993 and 1995, the Dutch unemployment rate increased sharply but the violent crime rate was essentially unaffected. From 1995 to 2011, the unemployment rate fell from 7.1 percent to just 2.5 percent, and the violent crime rate exploded upwards. Since 2008, the jobless rate has increased rapidly, but the violent crime rate has declined modestly -- albeit still at nearly twice 1993 levels.

Real per capita GDP has fallen 5 percent since 2008, and violent crime also declined, whereas from 1993 to 2005 the real per capita GDP increased by almost 30 percent while the violent crime rate also increased 111 percent. 

Attempting to assign causation for an increasing violent crime rate on increased per capita wealth generation would be inconsistent with the general experience among wealthy nations over this time frame (aka, invalid).

Changes in income inequality also won't explain the massive increase in the Dutch violent crime rate during the last two decades. The income shares for the top 10 percent and top 1 percent have hardly changed over this period.

What has changed in a consistent manner with the Dutch violent crime rate is the percentage of population that is classified as "international migrant stock"

Read more: Blog: The Netherlands Falls Victim to Violent Crime