Rome

By Gabriel Elizondo in Americas on June 9th, 2011
AFP picture

 

Cesare Battisti.

In Italy, he’s a convicted murderer, alleged terrorist and international fugitive responsible for four killings in the 1970’s during his time with the radical Armed Proletarians for Communism group in his home country.

In Brazil, Battisti is a political refugee - and as of the past 24 hours - free to walk the streets.

Yes, we are talking about the same man here.

It’s a long and complicated story, Google him or read here for more background. But the bottom line is that Battisti was arrested in Brazil in 2007 because he had an international arrest warrant in his name.

By Al Jazeera Staff in Africa on February 22nd, 2011
Protesters chant anti-government slogans in Tobruk [Reuters]

As the uprising in Libya enters its tenth day, we keep you updated on the developing situation from our headquarters in Doha, Qatar.

By Al Jazeera Staff in Europe on September 16th, 2010

18:30 GMT: Right, that's it from me for the day. Hope you enjoyed the coverage. Don't forget to check back for more updates tomorrow, and remember, you can follow this and other world news 24 hours a day by tuning into Al Jazeera English, or online at www.aljazeera.net/english. But I'm guessing you knew that...

18:23 GMT: Susan Boyle is back on stage, and the first day of the Pope's visit to Britain is over. He will now head to London to spend the night there, ahead of a visit to Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canturbury, scheduled for Friday.    

18:11 GMT:  Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher reports from the mass: "What the pope got here in Glasgow was what we would have expected from the fathful. It's not just Scots that are here; we've seen flags from all over Europe.

By Alan Fisher in Europe on February 15th, 2010
Photo by Getty

As the Northern Ireland peace process began to get underway in the early 1990s, I remember spending a week outside the Irish parliament in Dublin. 

Albert Reynolds, the Irish prime minister and one of the main architects of the fledging peace moves, was in trouble because of the way his government had handled an abuse scandal involving Father Brendan Smyth, a Catholic priest in Dublin.            

Smyth was an arrogant bully. I still remember watching him on camera as he emerged from a court hearing, swaggering towards the lens and then pretending to headbutt it, a smirk on his face. For over 20 years, he abused dozens of boys in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the US.

By Teymoor Nabili in Americas on December 17th, 2009
Photo from GALLO/GETTY

For some years it has been fashionable to compare the US to ancient Rome.

Much of the conversation considers how the US has taken on the distinguishing characteristics of empire, highlighting social and cultural decadence or economic issues.

It has even become an element of the educational curriculum.

Some like to argue that a US empire is a good thing for the world, while others point out that empires inevitably come to an end.

Tags: Rome
By Barbara Serra in Europe on November 21st, 2009

The Vatican may well describe Saturday’s talks between Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, and Pope Benedict as “cordial”, but for many Anglicans, relations between the two churches are anything but.

By Andrew Simmons in Africa on November 5th, 2009
Photo by Reuters

Kenyan politics was to blame for the bloodbath in the wake of Presidential elections – and the politics of this country are also to blame for the absence of justice nearly two years later.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court plans to change that. But any hope he may have had in getting the active co-operation of the Grand Coalition formed as part of the peace deal that pulled Kenya back from the brink of civil war appear to have been dashed.

His hope had been for the Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to formally request the ICC’s intervention, triggering an immediate opening of his inquiry. In a meeting that lasted less than an hour, that was not the case.

By Barbara Serra in Middle East on May 10th, 2009

Photo by AFPYou know a country is excited about a distinguished visitor to its soil when the visit has its own theme song.

Like a lot of music, it's actually a remix of another tune, namely the chant that you hear in St Peter's Square in Rome when the crowds are calling to Pope Benedict XVI.

It is not far from what you might get at a football stadium, complete with clapping: "BEEEEEEN…EDETTO" (clap, clap, clap-clap-clap-clap!).

In Rome, you just repeat his name, but the Jordanians have added some Italian lyrics to the chorus (Beeeeen….venuto! in Giordaaaaa –niaaaa - welcome to Jordan) and then whole verses in Arabic about his mission of peace and the beauty of their land.

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