Bishop who quit over affair claims says he wants to remain a priest

Kieran Conry admits he had a sexual relationship and says he never regretted being a priest

The Guardian, Matthew Taylor, Sunday 5 October 2014

Kieran Conry. Photograph: PA

A Roman Catholic bishop who resigned after claims of a love affair with a parishioner has admitted having had a sexual relationship but said he wanted to remain a priest.

Kieran Conry resigned as bishop of Arundel and Brighton last week after the estranged husband of one of the women with whom he was said to have had a relationship threatened to sue the church. The man had hired a private detective to follow his wife.

In an interview in the Sunday Times, Conry, 63, admitted to one previous sexual relationship. “I did wrong,” he said. “Celibacy may be a tradition rather than an article of faith but the vast majority of priests are faithful to their promise.”

Despite press reports of other affairs, Conry said he would do any job that came his way if he was allowed to remain in the church. “I’ve never regretted being a priest. I’ve never felt unhappy, I’ve enjoyed it and tried to do whatever was asked of me. I’ve always gone where I’ve been sent and I hope to do the same again,” he said.

Conry said his relationship with the woman whose husband threatened to sue was no more than a close friendship. The woman allegedly stayed at his house at least three times and they went shopping and visited the British Museum in London and a Henri Matisse exhibition together.

He admitted that a relationship six years ago had been sexual but would not say how long it had lasted. He said he decided to resign because “it was the easiest way to avoid further embarrassment, disappointment … and shame for the church”.

Conry said celibacy was not about sex but marriage. “When a priest makes a promise of celibacy, he promises to remain unmarried, that’s all. Then the ordinary rules of morality apply,” he said.

“But I’d like to make it clear I’m not calling for a change. I did wrong. Celibacy may be a tradition rather than an article of faith but the vast majority of priests are faithful to their promise, faithful to what the church expects of them. And I have great respect and admiration for that.”

Related Articles:

Pope Francis: Vatican begins landmark synod to discuss family life

Pope Francis' No. 2: Clerical celibacy is open to discussion

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… I gave you a channelling years ago when Pope John Paul was alive. John Paul loved Mary, the mother. Had John Paul survived another 10 years, he would have done what the next Pope [The one after the current one, Benedict XVI] will do, and that is to bring women into the Church. This Pope you have now [Benedict XVI] won't be here long.* The next Pope will be the one who has to change the rules, should he survive. If he doesn't, it will be the one after that.

There it a large struggle within the Church, even right now, and great dissention, for it knows that it is not giving what humanity wants. The doctrine is not current to the puzzles of life. The answer will be to create a better balance between the feminine and masculine, and the new Pope, or the one after that, will try to allow women to be in the higher echelon of the Church structure to assist the priests.

It will be suggested to let women participate in services, doing things women did not do before. This graduates them within church law to an equality with priests, but doesn't actually let them become priests just yet. However, don't be surprised if this begins in another way, and instead gives priests the ability to marry. This will bring the feminine into the church in other ways. It will eventually happen and has to happen. If it does not, it will be the end of the Catholic Church, for humanity will not sustain a spiritual belief system that is out of balance with the love of God and also out of balance with intuitive Human awareness.  …”

Pope Francis: Vatican begins landmark synod to discuss family life

BBC News, 5 October 2014

Pope Francis: Vatican begins landmark synod to discuss family life

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Pope Francis and more than 200 senior bishops are meeting at the Vatican to discuss some of the most controversial issues affecting the Catholic Church.

They will be joined by lay Catholics to debate abortion, contraception, homosexuality and divorce.

The extraordinary Synod lasts two weeks and a follow-up meeting will be held next year.

Pope Francis said on Saturday that he wanted bishops to really listen to the Catholic community.

He said he hoped they would have a "sincere, open and fraternal" discussion that would respond to the "epochal changes" that families were living through.

Last year, a global survey launched by Pope Francis suggested that the majority of Catholics reject Church teaching on issues such as sex and contraception.

Many Catholics hope that Pope Francis' reformist attitude will help to modernise

and revitalise an ailing Church

Pope Francis was elected to lead the Church in a papal enclave in 2013

after his predecessor Benedict XI retired

On Saturday, Pope Francis led crowds in the Vatican's St Peter's Square in
a vigil to prepare for the Synod

As one of the world's oldest religious institutions, the Catholic Church is in no hurry to change its teachings, says the BBC's religious affairs correspondent Caroline Wyatt in Rome.

No-one should expect rapid results from this Synod, but many Catholics are hoping that it will bring some change, our correspondent adds.

After these two weeks of debate, the Synod will gather again in a year's time to continue its review.

The Catholic Church has more than one billion members around the world.

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Will ET Be Here Soon? NASA Brings Scientists, Theologians Together To Prepare

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  1 - Spirituality

Number one: Spirituality. The systems of spiritual design on your planet are starting to change. This is not telling you that certain ones are going to go away. They're simply going to change. Some of the largest spiritual systems, which you would call organized religion on the planet, are shifting. They're going to shift away from that which is authority on the outside to authority on the inside. It will eventually be a different way of worship, slowly changing the rules while keeping the basic doctrine the same.

The doctrine of the Christ has always been to find the God inside. The teachings were clear. The examples of the miracles were given as an example of what humans could do, not to set a man up for worship as a God. So when that has been absorbed, the teaching of the Christ can remain the teaching of the Christ. It simply changes the interpretation.

The teachings of the great prophets of the Middle East (all related to each other) are about unity and love. So once the holy words are redefined with new wisdom, the Human changes, not the words of the prophets. In fact, the prophets become even more divinely inspired and their wisdom becomes even more profound.

You're going to lose a pope soon. I have no clock. Soon to us can mean anything to you. The one who replaces him may surprise you, for his particular organization will be in survival mode at that point in time. That is to say that fewer and fewer are interested in starting the priesthood. Fewer and fewer young people are interested in the organization, and the new pope must make changes to keep his church alive. That means that his organization will remain, but with a more modern look at what truly is before all of you in a new energy. It is not the fall of the church. It is instead the recalibration of the divinity inside that would match the worship that goes on. It's a win-win situation. The new pope will have a difficult time, since the old guard will still be there. There could even be an assassination attempt, such is the way the old energy dies hard. That is number one. Watch for it. It's a change in the way spiritual systems work. It's a realignment of spiritual systems that resound to a stronger truth that is Human driven, rather than prophet driven. .. ”

“…  3 - Longer Life is Going to Happen, But…

Here is one that is a review. We keep bringing it up because Humans don't believe it. If you're going to start living longer, there are those who are frightened that there will be overpopulation. You've seen the way it is so far, and the geometric progression of mathematics is absolute and you cannot change it. So if you look at the population of the earth and how much it has shifted in the last two decades, it's frightening to you. What would change that progression?

The answer is simple, but requires a change in thinking. The answer is a civilization on the planet who understands a new survival scenario. Instead of a basic population who has been told to have a lot of children to enhance the race [old survival], they begin to understand the logic of a new scenario. The Akashic wisdom of the ages will start to creep in with a basic survival scenario shift. Not every single woman will look at herself and say, "The clock is ticking," but instead can say, "I have been a mother 14 times in a row. I'm going to sit this one out." It's a woman who understands that there is no loss or guilt in this, and actually feels that the new survival attribute is to keep the family small or not at all! Also, as we have said before, even those who are currently ignorant of population control will figure out what is causing babies to be born [Kryon joke].

Part of the new Africa will be education and healing, and eventually a zero population growth, just like some of the first-world nations currently have. Those who are currently tied to a spiritual doctrine will actually have that doctrine changed (watch for it) regarding Human birth. Then they will be able to make free choice that is appropriate even within the establishment of organized religion. You see, things are going to change where common sense will say, "Perhaps it would help the planet if I didn't have children or perhaps just one child." Then the obvious, "Perhaps I can exist economically better and be wiser with just one. It will help the one!" Watch for these changes. For those of you who are steeped in the tradition of the doctrines and would say that sounds outrageously impossible, I give you the new coming pope [Kryon smile]. For those of you who feel that uncontrolled procreation is inevitable, I encourage you to see statistics you haven't seen or didn't care to look at yet about what first-world countries have already accomplished on their own, without any mandates. It's already happening. That was number three.….”

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… I gave you a channelling years ago when Pope John Paul was alive. John Paul loved Mary, the mother. Had John Paul survived another 10 years, he would have done what the next Pope [The one after the current one, Benedict XVI] will do, and that is to bring women into the Church. This Pope you have now [Benedict XVI] won't be here long.* The next Pope will be the one who has to change the rules, should he survive. If he doesn't, it will be the one after that.

There it a large struggle within the Church, even right now, and great dissention, for it knows that it is not giving what humanity wants. The doctrine is not current to the puzzles of life. The answer will be to create a better balance between the feminine and masculine, and the new Pope, or the one after that, will try to allow women to be in the higher echelon of the Church structure to assist the priests.

It will be suggested to let women participate in services, doing things women did not do before. This graduates them within church law to an equality with priests, but doesn't actually let them become priests just yet. However, don't be surprised if this begins in another way, and instead gives priests the ability to marry. This will bring the feminine into the church in other ways. It will eventually happen and has to happen. If it does not, it will be the end of the Catholic Church, for humanity will not sustain a spiritual belief system that is out of balance with the love of God and also out of balance with intuitive Human awareness.  …”

Comfortable win projected for Latvia's center-right

Latvia's ruling coalition has won the country's general election, according to exit polls. The center-right grouping was projected a resounding majority in a vote overshadowed by fears about resurgent neighbor Russia.

Deutsche Welle, 4 Oct 2014

The three-party governing coalition enjoyed a comfortable lead in at least two exit polls after voting ended on Saturday, giving it a substantial majority in Latvia's lower house, the Saeima.

A poll by the news agency LETA gave 61.7 percent of the vote to the combined Unity party, Nationalist Alliance and Union of Greens and Farmers. The figure would give the alliance - led by Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma - a projected 63 seats in the 100-seat parliament.

The pro-Russian opposition Harmony party garnered 21.6 percent of the vote, which it is expected would give them 23 seats.

Meanwhile, two new parties managed to cross the 5 percent voting threshold needed to enter parliament. The Alliance of Latvia's Regions took 6 percent of the vote, while For Latvia from the Heart had 5.4 percent.

A separate poll by the news agency BNS gave a slightly stronger showing for the center-right coalition, on 63.1 percent, while Harmony won 19.4 percent. The Alliance of Latvia's Regions and For Latvia from the Heart took 6.2 percent and 6.9 percent respectively.

Jitters over Moscow

The poll comes amid growing alarm among many Latvians in the face of Russian interventions in Ukraine, particularly the annexation of Crimea in March. Latvia, now an EU, eurozone and NATO member, was under Soviet rule until 1991.

Harmony draws much of its support from Latvia's Russian minority, which makes up a quarter of the country's 2 million inhabitants. It campaigns for Russian to become Latvia's second official language and the party did not support a recent parliamentary resolution that supported Ukraine against "Russian aggression".

Straujuma has called for more NATO troops and extra air patrols in the country, which borders Russia, amid fears of a resurgent Russia. She warned ahead of the election that a win for Harmony could threaten the independence of Latvia, which was part of the Soviet Union until 1991.

Harmony received the most votes of any individual party in a snap election in 2011, but this was not enough to give it a majority. Having failed to find coalition partners, it was relegated to the opposition in the 100-seat parliament.

rc/bw (AFP, Reuters)

Sweden to recognise Palestinian state

BBC News, 3 October 2014

Sweden has just elected a new centre-left government led by Prime Minister
Stefan Lofven (second left)

Related Stories

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Sweden is to "recognise the state of Palestine", Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has said, the first long-term EU member country to do so.

"The conflict between Israel and Palestine can only be solved with a two-state solution," he said during his inaugural address in parliament.

It should be "negotiated in accordance with international law", he said.

Sweden last month voted out the centre-right Alliance coalition of Fredrik Reinfeldt after eight years.

That allowed the Social Democrats led by Mr Lofven to form a government with other parties on the left including the Greens.

"A two-state solution requires mutual recognition and a will to peaceful co-existence. Sweden will therefore recognise the state of Palestine," Mr Lofven said on Friday, without giving a timeline for the recognition.

Sweden will join more than 130 other countries that recognise a Palestinian state.

Most of the EU's 28 member states have refrained from recognising Palestinian statehood and those that do - such as Hungary, Poland and Slovakia - did so before joining the bloc.

Long campaign

The Palestinians have long sought to establish an independent, sovereign state in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem as its capital, and the Gaza Strip - occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War.

Correspondents say Sweden's move is likely to be strongly criticised by Israel and the US, who argue that an independent Palestinian state should only emerge through negotiations.

Palestinians say the peace process is hampered by Israeli settlements like
this one in the West Bank

In 1988, the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat unilaterally declared a Palestinian state within the pre-June 1967 lines.

This won recognition from about 100 countries, mainly Arab, Communist and non-aligned states - several of them in Latin America.

The 1993 Oslo Accord between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Israel led to mutual recognition. However, two decades of on-off peace talks have since failed to produce a permanent settlement.

In 2012, the UN General Assembly voted to upgrade the status of the Palestinians to that of a "non-member observer state".

It followed a failed bid to join the international body as a full member state in 2011 because of a lack of support in the UN Security Council.

Related Articles:

Palestinians and ICC: What’s Next?

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Wonga writes off debts for 330,000 customers

Chief executive apologises to customers as payday lender writes off £220m of debts and interest costs

The Guardian, Rupert Neate and Lisa Bachelor, Thursday 2 October 2014

The offices of Wonga, the payday loan company, near Regent's Park in London.
Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian

The controversial payday lender Wonga is writing off £220m of loans to 330,000 people, admitting that it should never have lent to them in the first place.

The company, which MPs have accused of “legal loan sharking”, said it would entirely wipe out the loans, and scrap interest and charges owed by a further 45,000 customers.

Wonga’s new chief executive, Andy Haste, said the company had been wrong to lend the money to people that could not afford to pay it back.

“We are taking action to address the failing of the past,” Haste said. “This business had been too focused on growth and cared more about the loan outcome than the customer outcome.

“We are clearly very sorry for what’s happened to our customers and are doing everything to put that right.”

He said Wonga had lacked experience credit professionals and “lent to people we should not have lent to”.

“The checks were not sophisticated enough and not strong enough,” he said.

Wonga’s action came after the City regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), “raised concerns about our lending practices”, he added.

Wonga will write off the outstanding debts of 330,000 people who are more than 30 days in arrears, and let a further 45,000 people who are less than 30 days in arrears as of 2 October to pay back their loans without interest or charges. The customers affected will be notified by 10 October. Wonga estimated that the writeoffs will cost it about £35m as it has already taken provisions against many of the loans.

Haste, a respected City veteran who joined the company in the summer, said he would “not apportion blame” on Wonga’s founder Errol Damelin, who quit the firm in June.

John Mann, a Labour MP on the Treasury select committee, said Wonga should be called before parliament urgently to explain its “underhand tactics”, which he said disproportionately affected poor people.

“I welcome today’s latest step by the FCA to crack down on irresponsible payday lenders and this is a company that has taken advantage of people in dire financial circumstances,” he said.

“Sadly, it comes as no surprise to learn that Wonga knowingly lent money to people who will never be able to afford to repay a loan and it is morally right that they have been forced to write off these loans.

“I have written to the chairman of the Treasury select committee asking that he summons Wonga’s senior management to appear before the committee to explain their actions.”

The action has come about because Wonga was granting loans to borrowers without checking that they could afford to make the repayments. The company boasts on its website that it will pay the money into customers accounts within five minutes of the loan being approved.

It is understood that the checks the lender was making were so poor that many of its borrowers had no chance of ever repaying the loan because of the dire financial situation they were already in.

The FCA and Wonga are continuing to look at whether any other customers might be affected. It is understood that this could include former Wonga customers who managed to pay off their loans but should never have been lent to in the first place. If these customers were identified, it could lead to another huge bill for the company.

Wonga has also changed its lending criteria with immediate effect. It said that from now on there would be greater scrutiny of “loan to income ratio”.

It will also put a “30-day freeze” in place for people who have been in arrears before or have been rejected for a loan. Previously someone who had made late repayments but then paid off a loan could immediately apply for another one. A potential customer Wonga rejected could also immediately reapply. Now both sets of people will be barred from reapplying for 30 days.

Wonga said that the changes would mean “a material drop in the number of loans to new and existing customers”.

The firm will also be implementing new software that will determine how it lends. The creation of a “lending decision engine” will be overseen by a company appointed by the FCA.

One Wonga customer, Dan, who has a loan of just over £1,000 and is more than 45 days in arrears, welcomed the news. “Though no guidelines have yet to be published, I am hoping this deal struck puts me in the bracket of those who do not need to repay,” he said. “If so, it would be a very welcome gift.”

NATO's Jens Stoltenberg, 'more secretary than general'

NATO's new Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is experienced in dealing with Moscow. Some say that fact will help as the military alliance faces its toughest challenge in dealing with Russia.

Deutsche Welle, 1 Oct 2014

At the height of NATO's most fierce conflict with Russia in decades, another Scandinavian follows in the footsteps of Denmark's Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the Western alliance's Secretary General: 55-year-old Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg. He served as prime minister of his country for three terms, first as the youngest prime minister in Norway's history from 2000 to 2001, and then again from 2005 to 2013.

While Stoltenberg's Social Democrats were the strongest party in the 2013 parliamentary elections, the ruling coalition did not win enough mandates to form a coalition and Erna Solberg, the candidate for the conservatives, took over the government. Solberg honored Stoltenberg for his role in the wake of the Breivik attacks in July 2011. "You stood solid as a rock," she praised her predecessor.

Finding the right words

A paradise island for young people was
turned into a hell, Stoltenberg said

In fact, it wasn't until Anders Behring Breivik killed more than 70 people in Oslo and at the Social Democrats' youth summer camp on Utoya Island that Stoltenberg became known to a wider public outside of Norway.

Once a board member of his party's youth organization himself, Stoltenberg reacted like a father figure, calming people after the massacre and giving comfort - he didn't get carried away by imprudent reactions.

"We must stand firm in defending our values," he said with tears in his eyes. "The Norwegian response to violence is more democracy, more openness and greater participation in politics."

The dramatic weeks following the massacre, when Norway was in the international spotlight, were Stoltenberg's political acid test. The general consensus has been that he passed the test with flying colors.

Complete turnaround

Apart from three terms as Norway's prime minister, Stoltenberg also headed ministries in other governing cabinets but never served as defense minister. In the early 1990s, he was a member of the Defense Committee, possibly the only position associating him with NATO.

As a young man, Stoltenberg opposed Norwegian membership in the alliance and disputed US policies. In protest to the Vietnam War, Stoltenberg shattered windows at the US embassy building in Oslo, and later, as a young adult, he railed at the Western military alliance.

Then he changed his mind, and made sure that Norway's Social Democratic youth organization officially accepted the country's membership in NATO.

As prime minister, he was responsible for international military missions: Norway participated in the Afghanistan mission and joined the intervention in Libya, winning him and the country Washington's respect.

By then, the United States and other NATO states had forgotten his youthful follies - and he was gradually brought forward as a candidate for the alliance's top political job.

The Russian challenge

The Norwegian's diplomatic skills in handling neighboring Russia are an additional boon. He facilitated cross-border traffic by introducing visa exemptions along the land border, and he signed border agreements on the Barents Sea. Even before Stoltenberg had won the race for NATO's top political job, Norway's largest daily "Aftenposten" pointed out that his experience as a neighbor to Russia is "an asset." The new man at the helm is bound to be a NATO leader with more of a political than a military orientation, "Aftenposten" editor Harald Stanghelle said, adding: that he is "more secretary than general."

The conflict with Russia will certainly demand all of Stoltenberg's diplomatic skills within and beyond NATO. The key question at the start of his term as NATO head: how can NATO protect its eastern member states against Russia's grasp without provoking an open military confrontation with Moscow?

It's also about money. Even before the most recent conflict erupted, the United States repeatedly urged the European NATO allies to spend more on defense. Those demands have become louder.

But in that respect, Stoltenberg can rest easy: while most of the alliance's member states have consistently decreased their defense spending, Norway, under Prime Minister Stoltenberg, increased the defense budget.

Turkey pushes for more than 'dropping tons of bombs' on IS

Yahoo – AFP, Burak Akinci, 1 Oct 2014

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) addresses the Turkish parliament

 in Ankara after it reconvened following the summer recess on October 1, 2014

(AFP Photo/Adem Altan)

Ankara (AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pressed the West on Wednesday to find a long-term solution to the crises in Syria and Iraq, saying dropping "tons of bombs" on Islamic State militants would only provide temporary respite.

Erdogan has pushed for the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad throughout the Syria crisis to settle the conflict and said that international action had to go well beyond air strikes.

"Dropping tons of bombs from the air is only a temporary solution and only delays the threats and the danger," Erdogan told parliament in a keynote address on the opening day of its new session.

A Syrian Kurd arrives in the southeastern

 town of Suruc in the Sanliurfa province

 after crossing the border into Turkey on

October 1, 2014 (AFP Photo/Bulent Kilic)

"The world should know that Turkey is not a country that will allow itself to be used in the search for a palliative solution," he added.

Erdogan's comments came a day ahead of a debate in parliament when the government will seek authorisation for military action by Turkish armed forces in the Syria and Iraq crises.

After months of reticence in the fight against IS that exasperated the West, Turkey has now shifted its policy and indicated it is willing to join the international coalition.

Ankara has not yet indicated what form its assistance could take although Erdogan has repeatedly called for a buffer zone on the Turkish border inside Syria -- backed by a no-fly zone -- to ensure security.

"Turkey has no intention of intervening in any country's internal affairs or grabbing any other country's land," Erdogan told parliament.

"But peace and stability in the region means peace and stability in Turkey," he added.

Parliament urged to back measures

According to the Hurriyet daily, quoting sources in Turkey's central command, the request seeks permission from parliament for the presence and transit of foreign soldiers in Turkish territory and deployment of Turkish military forces to Iraq or Syria.

The armed forces want to allow Turkey's allies the use of Turkish bases for humanitarian aid and logistical support, including the Incirlik air base which the US is keen to use for sorties against IS, it said.

But is for the government to determine the terms and conditions under which the bases, including Incirlik, can be used, Hurriyet said.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has a strong majority in parliament but Erdogan called on the opposition to also vote for the mandate.

"Parties in parliament should take this into consideration when voting for the mandate," Erdogan said.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) addresses the Turkish Parliament 

during a debate as the Parliament reconvenes after a summer recess in Ankara, 

October 1, 2014 (AFP Photo/Adem Altan)

"Remaining silent means betraying our history."

Turkey has been accused of playing a role in the growth of IS with its past support of Islamist Syrian groups in the hope they would aid the ousting of Assad.

But Erdogan angrily lashed out at suggestions of collusion between Turkey and IS.

"It is out of the question to tolerate or to have the slightest sympathy on our territory, region or planet for such a terrorist group," he said.

Ankara has previously justified its low-key role in the fight against IS by saying its hands were tied by concerns over the fate of dozens of Turkish hostages abducted by IS in Iraq.

But those hostages were freed September 20, prompting what Erdogan has acknowledged as a major change in Turkish policy.

Related Article:

Russia, West unite against 'Islamic State' terrorists

Ex-Guantanamo detainee walks free after UK drops terror charges

Yahoo – AFP, 1 Oct 2014

Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam

 Begg, seen here in 2012, has been in custody

 since March (AFP Photo/Carl Court)

London (AFP) - A former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Moazzam Begg, walked free from a British prison on Wednesday after prosecutors dropped seven terror charges relating to the conflict in Syria.

The 45-year-old, who fought in Bosnia in the 1990s and admitted training young men in Syria "to defend civilians" against President Bashar al-Assad's regime, had been in custody since March awaiting trial.

"I wanted my day in court but I was very happy," Begg told reporters outside the high-security Belmarsh prison in southeast London shortly after being released.

"I think that it's important to point out some of the government's failures in its foreign policy and its internal policy -- it's clear demonising of the Muslim community."

The Crown Prosecution Service made the dramatic announcement during a pre-trial review at the Old Bailey court in London, where Begg was appearing via videolink.

"The prosecution have recently become aware of relevant material and in light of which, after careful and anxious consideration, have reached the conclusion that there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction in this case," prosecuting lawyer Christopher Hehir said.

Begg was arrested in February at his home, accused of providing terrorist training between October 2012 and April 2013, and funding terrorism between July and August 2013.

His arrest caused headlines because of his high profile, and police conceded that questions were now going to be asked about why he was charged in the first place.

From Guantanamo to rights campaigning

Born in Britain, Begg fought in Bosnia in the 1990s and moved with his family to Afghanistan in 2001.

He was detained in Pakistan in January 2002 and spent nearly a year in prison at Bagram, the main US airbase in Afghanistan, before being sent to the notorious US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba until his release without charge in January 2005.

Returning to Britain, he became director of a human rights organisation, CAGE, and a vocal critic of the rights of those detained under the so-called "War on Terror".

After the Arab Spring, he visited Syria twice, as well as Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, to conduct what he said were investigations into the British government's role in human rights violations, according to CAGE.

His lawyer Ben Emmerson said he made no secret of his visits to Syria but was not guilty of terrorism.

"Mr Begg did not train anyone for the purposes of terrorism as defined in the 2001 act," Emmerson told the court.

"Mr Begg says he was involved in training young men to defend civilians against war crimes by the Assad regime."

Some 500 British citizens are believed to be fighting for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and Britain has stepped up checks to prevent them leaving and has arrested returnees.

In his speech to the Conservative Party conference, Prime Minister David Cameron had a message for Britons who travel to Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State jihadist group.

"You have declared your allegiance. You are an enemy of the UK and you should expect to be treated as such," he said.

Norway named best place to grow old

Yahoo – AFP, 1 Oct 2014

An elderly woman makes her way through the snow in Norway which tops the
Global AgeWatch index ahead of Sweden (AFP)

Norway is the best place to grow old, according to the latest Global AgeWatch index of 96 countries published on Wednesday, while Afghanistan is the worst.

All but one of the top 10 countries are in Western Europe, North America and Australasia, with Japan the exception at ninth place, according to the ranking which comprises 91 percent of the global population over the age of 60.

Norway tops the index, pushing last year's number one Sweden into second place in the second year the index has been released.

An elderly Afghan man carries firewood over 

his shoulders in Afghanistan -- bottom on the

list of places to live in old age

Unsurprisingly, African countries make up half of the lowest quarter of the index, although Venezuela, Turkey and Serbia are ranked 76th, 77th and 74th respectively.

HelpAge International, the charity which compiled the list, said economic growth in itself was not enough to improve the lives of older people.

"Specific policies need to be put in place to address the implications of ageing," said the report, published on the United Nations International Day of Older Persons.

"Policies on income security in Mexico (30) have lifted it 26 places in the overall rankings since last year despite being less wealthy than Turkey (77)."

The index is based on 13 indicators grouped into four areas: income security; health status; capability, which includes employment and educational status; and the enabling environment, including issues such as physical safety.

Some countries fare better than others in different areas. Japan tops the rankings when it comes to health, while Switzerland has the best environment for older people.

'Explosion' of pensions

This year's report focuses particularly on income security, namely pensions, which older people consistently identify as their top priority to fend off the risk of poverty.

With rising numbers of old people -- two billion over the age of 60 by 2050, a similar number as children under 15 -- HelpAge International chief Toby Porter said pensions were vital for all governments.

"Incomes are often too low to save for old age, which is why there's such a need for a basic social pension now," he said.

African countries make up half of the

lowest quarter of the index

In low and middle-income countries, only one in four people over 65 receive a pension while worldwide, half of the global population do not have a pension, the report said.

But it applauds an "explosion" of new tax-financed, non-contributory pensions over the past two decades, which provide regular income for the very poorest.

Across Latin America, countries have "dramatically extended coverage" of social pensions, helping push them up the global rankings.

This reflects a global trend that saw China introduce a rural social pension in 2009, reaching 133 million more people, and Nepal and Thailand follow a similar route.

"In most European Union countries, pensions systems as a whole do more to reduce inequality than all other parts of the tax or benefit system combined," said Porter.

The top 10 in the index are: Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Iceland, United States, Japan and New Zealand.

The bottom 10 are: Iraq, Zambia, Uganda, Jordan, Pakistan, Tanzania, Malawi, West Bank and Gaza, Mozambique and Afghanistan.