Belgian state set to legalise infanticide

The Belgian Federal Parliament is reportedly about to expand its controversial "right to die" policies to include access to euthanasia for some gravely ill children.

A consensus among members of the legislative body has reportedly formed in support of legislation to allow children to choose to undergo euthanasia in certain dire cases, according to a report in the Belgian daily newspaper Der Morgen, as translated by the Paris-based news agency Presseurop.

If child euthanasia is legalized in Belgium, the country would become the first in the developed world to have a law on the books allowing the practice, although the Netherlands has since 2005 not prosecuted doctors who perform euthanasia on some minors as long as the doctors act in accordance with a set of medical guidelines dubbed the Groningen Protocol.

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Turks in Germany demand censorship of textbooks referring to Armenian Genocide

Turks have demonstrated in German Dusseldorf demanding  removal of the reference to 'the genocide of Armenians perpetrated by Turks in 1915 ’ from history text-books.

According to Time, about 8 thousand signatures have been gathered in favor of the proposition

They have organized a rally in Dusseldorf trying to draw the attention to the  signatures gathered.

One of the participants of the rally Ali Soilenmezoglu stated they demand that both parties study the topic and give their response, otherwise they will continue with the rallies.

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Pope sets up new commission to reform Vatican Bank

In a move that observers describe as a clear signal of a desire for greater transparency and accountability, Pope Francis on Wednesday set up a new commission to investigate the activities of the Vatican bank and to report its findings directly to him.

Among other things, observers say the move indicates that Francis intends to take a personal interest in the bank as opposed to relying on others to make decisions in his name.

The commission is not empowered to govern the bank or to implement any reform measures, but to gather information and relay it to the pope in what's described as a "timely" fashion.

On background, a source with knowledge of the commission was asked Wednesday if it reflected a stance of "trust but verify" vis-à-vis assurances from the bank's present leadership about its commitment to reform.

"What it means is trust with reluctance and verify deeply," the source said.


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