Royal interference? Since at least 2005, Prince Charles has been granted veto power over laws that could affect his income, the London Guardian revealed this week. Government ministers have allowed the heir to the throne to approve draft legislation on contracts and planning permits that were deemed to have a possible bearing on his vast private estates. Lord Berkeley, a Labor member of the House of Lords who was ordered to seek the prince’s consent on a bill on marine navigation, is calling for the government to “publish all correspondence between the Prince of Wales and the Queen and ministers in connection with bills for which their consent is sought” and to say “whether any bill in the last five years has been altered as a result of comments from Prince Charles or the Queen, and in what way.”
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Assange to be extradited: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has lost his appeal against extradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault. He now has two weeks to decide whether to appeal to Britain’s highest court; if he chooses not to or if that appeal is denied, as is likely, he will be sent to Sweden. The two accusations stem from initially consensual encounters when Assange was living in Sweden. One woman says Assange had sex with her while she was asleep, and another says he tried to force sex without a condom. Assange, who has been under house arrest at a British supporter’s mansion since December, is battling the extradition because of fears that he could then be further extradited from Sweden to the U.S. to face charges of publishing classified U.S. military documents.
Satirizing Islam: A French satirical newspaper that put out an issue mocking Islam this week has had its offices burned down. The apparent arson attack on Charlie Hebdo came just days after the weekly put out an issue supposedly guest-edited by the Prophet Mohammed. The front page showed a cartoon of a turban-wearing bearded man saying, “100 lashes if you don’t die laughing.” French Muslims condemned the attack. Mohammed Moussaoui, head of the French Council for the Muslim Faith, said his organization deplores “the very mocking tone of the paper toward Islam and its prophet but reaffirms with force its total opposition to all acts and all forms of violence.”
Amsterdam
Teen to be deported: A dispute over an Angolan teen threatens to bring down the Dutch government. Mauro Manuel was sent to the Netherlands at age 9 by his mother, who hoped he would have a better life there. Raised by a Dutch family, he speaks fluent Dutch, attends college, and has the support of his entire community. Now that he is 18, Dutch law says he must be deported to Angola, but many lawmakers are balking. “Rules are rules, but you cannot switch off your heart and your brain,” said Green Left party leader Henk Nijhof. The anti-immigrant Freedom Party says it will stop backing the coalition government in parliament if Manuel is allowed to stay. That could cause the government to fall, triggering early elections.
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