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SEX. BOOZE.
ANDALL THE
CHARMOF THE
QUEENMARY 2
PAGE 22
|
TRAVEL
THE AFRICAN
ARTISTWHO’S
CHALLENGING
PERCEPTIONS
PAGE 16
|
WEEKEND ARTS
WEEKEND
SUZYMENKES
ONAMERICA’S
ASIANWAVE
PAGE 6
|
FASHIONNEWYORK
50 YEARS LATER,
ANOTHER LOOK
AT SYLVIA PATH
PAGE 20
|
BOOKS
SKY’S THE LIMIT
FOR A TYCOON
INAZERBAIJAN
PAGE 10
|
BUSINESS
THE GLOBAL EDITION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES
SATURDAY-SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9-10, 2013
GLOBAL.NYTIMES.COM
Scandal
over horse
meat spreads
in Europe
LONDON
E.U. leaders
reach deal
on budget
of austerity
BRUSSELS
Food industry in tumult
as consumers demand to
know what they’re eating
Struggle shows challenge
of finding union amid 27
sets of parochial concerns
BY STEPHEN CASTLE
AND DOUGLAS DALBY
Few things divide British eating habits
from those of continental Europe as
clearly as a distaste for consuming
horse meat, so news that many Britons
have unknowingly done so has prompt-
ed alarm among shoppers and plunged
the country’s food industry into crisis.
A trickle of discoveries of horse meat
in hamburgers, starting in Ireland last
month, has turned into a steady stream
of revelations, including, on Friday, that
lasagna labeled as beef from one inter-
national distributor of frozen food, Find-
us — which supplies its products to an
array of retailers and supermarket
chains —was in some cases 100 percent
horse meat.
The widening scandal has now
touched producers and potentially mil-
lions of consumers in at least five coun-
tries — Ireland, Britain, Poland, France
and Sweden — and raised questions of
food safety and oversight, as well as the
possibility of outright fraud in an indus-
try with a history of grave, if episodic,
lapses that have proved resistant to
similarly episodic efforts at stricter reg-
ulation and reform. Already, tens of mil-
lions of hamburgers from several sup-
pliers have been recalled.
The growing scale of the problem be-
came clear this week when the chief ex-
ecutive of the Food Safety Authority of
Ireland, Alan Reilly, alleged that meat
was being deliberately mislabeled. ‘‘We
are no longer talking about trace
amounts,’’ he told RTE, the national
broadcaster. ‘‘We are talking about
horse meat. Somebody, someplace is
drip-feeding horse meat into the burger
manufacturing industry. We don’t know
BY JAMES KANTER
AND ANDREWHIGGINS
As European Union leaders began their
14th hour of budget negotiations after a
sleepless night, Valdis Dombrovskis, the
prime minister of Latvia, took the floor
early Friday to address what, for his
Baltic nation of around just two million
NEWS ANALYSIS
people, is a vital question: Why should a
Latvian cow deserve less money than a
French, Dutch and even Romanian one?
In a system that requires unanimous
approval of budget decisions, what
Latvia wants for its dairy farmers — or
Estonia for its railways, Hungary for its
poorer regions and Spain for its fisher-
men — is no small matter. It is this caco-
phony of local concerns that explains
why, despite the outsize role in decision-
making of Germany, the European Un-
ion has such trouble reaching an agree-
ment on something as basic as a budget.
And if simply agreeing to a basic
budget—the first decrease in its history
— is so daunting tomember countries, it
also raised serious questions about the
TARA TODRAS-WHITEHILL FOR THE NEWYORK TIMES
Tunisia grieves
A huge crowd turned out on Friday in Tunis for the funeral of Chokri Belaid, an opposition leader who was assassinated this past week.
PAGE 4
The camp
aigns get personal in Italy
ROME
BY RACHEL DONADIO
One candidate promised to drop an un-
popular new property tax and refund all
prior payments in cash. Another called
that proposal a ‘‘poisoned meatball,’’
disconnected from reality. A third sug-
gested that Al Qaeda blow up the Italian
Parliament — then backtracked —
while the front runner is campaigning
on vague promises of stability, so has of-
ten been ignored.
With only two weeks to go before na-
tional elections, the Italian campaign
has become a surreal spectacle in which
a man many had given up for dead,
former Prime Minister Silvio Ber-
lusconi, has surged. Although he is not
expected ever to govern again, with his
media savvy and pie-in-the-sky offers of
tax refunds he now trails the front run-
ner, Pier Luigi Bersani, the leader of the
Democratic Party, by less than five
points, according to a range of opinion
polls published Friday.
The polls found that a former comedi-
an, Beppe Grillo, who made the Qaeda
quip as part of his anti-political cam-
paign, is close behind in third place,
while the caretaker prime minister,
Mario Monti, who made the ‘‘poisoned
meatball’’ remark as he stepped up at-
tacks against Mr. Berlusconi in an awk-
ward transition from technocrat to can-
didate, is taking up the rear with around
10 percent to 15 percent of the vote.
Most polls and analysts predict that
the center-left will win, but without
enough votes to governwithout forming
an alliance with Mr. Monti’s centrists.
Yet in a complex political landscape —
and with significant policy differences
between Mr. Monti and Mr. Bersani,
who have been criticizing each other in
their campaigns — nothing is a given
ITALY, PAGE 3
MEAT, PAGE 3
FRANÇOIS LENOIR/REUTERS
Herman Van Rompuy, European Council
chief, moved Friday to avoid a showdown.
On the pitch, fas
hion victims
limits of political and economic integra-
tion that have long been themaster plan
for champions of European unity.
After a failed attempt to fix spending
targets at the summit meeting in No-
vember and a 24-hour marathon of talks
this week, European leaders finally
agreed late Friday to a common budget
for the next seven years. Slightly smal-
ler than its predecessor, the new budget
plan reflects the climate of austerity
across a continent still struggling to
emerge from a crippling debt crisis.
The colossal effort that was required
in what has unfortunately become his
signature garment: a fluffy, puffy, oddly
elongated, sausage-like parka that surely
keeps him warm, but also makes him
look like a caterpillar in a sleeping bag.
These are the men of the English
Premier League, coaches stalking on the
sidelines in the most scrutinized sport in
the world, in a country where abysmal
weather can lead to strange adventures
in improvised fashion. But even at the
best of times, soccer coaches in England
LONDON
BY SARAH LYALL
Alex Ferguson pulled a woolly hat
around his ruddy face. Rafael Benítez
stood in a snowstorm in a suit that did
not fit. The usually suave André Villas-
Boas resorted to covering his legswith a
grandpa-by-the-fire-style blanket.
Then there was Arsène Wenger. In the
bitter cold and swirling snow at a recent
Arsenal game, Wenger encased himself
EDDIE KEOGH/REUTERS
RARE BREED
Robert Mancini’s team scarf is
believed to have been custom-made in Italy.
KERIMOKTEN/EPA
DRESS FOR SUCCESS?
Alex Ferguson takes
an old-school approach to his attire.
KERIMOKTEN/EPA
WELL, IT’SWARM
Arsène Wenger’s jacket
has been compared to a padded mobile coffin.
SOCCER, PAGE 14
UNION, PAGE 13
BUSINESS
Europe wary of aid to Peugeot
Industrial leaders across Europe are
watching cautiously as France debates
the issue of how to help Peugeot, the
struggling automaker. Any government
attempt to prop up Peugeot could strain
France’s relations with Germany and
provoke Fiat workers in Italy to call for
similar aid.
PAGE 10
WORLDNEWS
Racism denounced in Israel
Protests by an Israeli soccer club’s fans
over the recruitment of two Muslim
players have been denounced.
PAGE 5
PAGE TWO
An empire across the pond
As he imagines a more global life for
himself after City Hall, unshackled
from the 24/7 needs of running New
York City, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
— an Anglophile with a taste for
English Regency style — is exporting
his vast quantities of financial, social
and political capital to the ancient city
of London, where he has long yearned
for influence.
Polio workers killed in Nigeria
Gunmen suspected of belonging to a
radical Islamic sect killed at least nine
women delivering vaccinations.
PAGE 4
Investigation of Eni widens
Eni, the Italian oil giant, scrambled
Friday to contain the fallout from the
investigation of alleged corruption at its
oil services subsidiary, Saipem.
Prosecutors said late Thursday that they
had expanded their inquiry to include
Eni itself and its chief executive.
PAGE 10
H.P. sets limits on student labor
Hewlett-Packard is imposing new
limits on the employment of students
and temporary workers at factories
across China. The action, following
recent efforts by Apple to increase
scrutiny of student workers, reflects a
significant shift.
PAGE 11
VIEWS
David Brooks
If you take Machiavelli’s tough-minded
view of human nature, you have to be
brutal to your enemies — but you also
have to set up checks on the people you
empower to destroy them.
PAGE 9
How to ease Syrian suffering
A huge cross-border humanitarian
operation is feasible, and it could
contribute to a virtuous cycle that Syria
desperately needs to curb the slaughter
of civilians, Kenneth Roth writes.
PAGE 8
MOHAMMED ABDULLAH/REUTERS
Arms for Syrians
An Obama administration split last year over whether to
arm Syrian rebels, above, has surfaced in Senate testimony.
PAGE 5
NEWSSTAND PRICES
France ¤ 3.00
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Art 16
Books 20
Business 10
Crossword 21
Sports 14
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SATURDAY-SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9-10, 2013
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
page two
Freedom
has its own
constraints
love, runs away with the family daugh-
ter;thus the men wear black tie in-
stead of white to dinner one night; thus
anew generation ofservantsisless
servile, morewilling to question.
Mary McNamara, a television critic
at The Los Angeles Times, has de-
scribed ‘‘Downton’’ as ‘‘thetaleofan
oppressive social and economic system
that is finally being calledinto ques-
tion.’ ’ The drama comesfrom watching
our world slowly, inevitably defeat
theirs: ‘‘the bondageofsocial bylaws
and expectation,the fear ofnew tech-
nology,the desiretocling to old ways.’ ’
But now fast-forward a century, and
these social upheavals, beginning aus-
piciously, have ended badly on ‘‘Girls.’ ’
What begins on ‘‘Downton’’ asanew
liberty to follow yourheart, to dare
love thatothers find unwise, has culmi-
nated in ‘‘Girls’’ in romantic pursuits
that are dully mercenary and often un-
wise.
The daughters of the sexual revolu-
tionare depicted without much
agency: Far frombeing conquerors,
initiators,even equals,the girls of
‘‘Girls’’ are reactors, giving in to an ex
who changes his mind,or a gay man
wanting to try something,or a financi-
erseeking a threesomethat he man-
ages to upgradetotraditionally two-
some marriage.
What begins on ‘‘Downton’’ as a wel-
come questioning ofage and status
roles has snowballedbythe ‘‘Girls’’
era into grave role confusion: parents
who cannot teach their childrenhow to
live becausetheyfeelguiltyabout par-
enting,or wanttobe friends morethan
guides,orstill dress like teenagers and
call their offspring ‘‘prude.’’
Nowhere is this overshooting truer
than with the roles of the sexes. If
‘‘Downton’’ showsaworld in which
womenare starting to claim their own
sexuality, ‘‘Girls’’ portrays a sexual
dystopia in which thosewo
menseem
to have negotiatedpoorly:Mennow re-
liably get whatthey want, whilewom-
enmustoftencontentthemselves with
scraps, as when the character Hannah
celebrates ‘‘almost’’ satiationinbedas
the best she is likely to get.
The creator of ‘‘Girls,’ ’ Lena Dun-
ham, is a self-proclaimed liberal. But
hershow is, as some conservatives
gleefully note, full of ammunitionfor
their side.
‘‘There are reasons forconserva-
tivesnot to likeor even to refuseto
watch ‘Girls,’ ’’ PeterLawler, apolitical
philosopherinthe conservative Catho-
lic tradition,wrote recently, adding:
‘‘But we have to admitthatthings that
are really revolting fromamoral orre-
lational pointof view are actually por-
trayedquite negatively.’ ’
If seenasawork of criticism rather
than celebration, ‘‘Girls’’ makes Mr.
Lawler optimistic: ‘‘The hopethe show
gives us is the persistenceofrelational
human nature,’’ despite the characters’
failures, fornow, to achieve it.
‘‘Girls’’ is about atoms that desire in
vain to formmolecules; about sexlives
that breedmore confusion than excite-
ment; about peoplewith the liberty to
chooseevery day,on various dimen-
sions,whom to be—and who grow
very tired of the choosing.
E-MAIL:
pagetwo@iht.com
Join an online conversation at
Twitter.com/anandwrites
Anand
Giridharadas
CURRENTS
NEW YORK
On the surface, all they
have in commonistheir Sunday air-
time, at least in theUnitedStates.One
televisionshow is about English aristo-
crats, crisp, proper,well-dressed even
in bed. Theotherisabout fouryoung
women,oftenlost and very often un-
clothed, inasetting quite different
from Yorkshire: Brooklyn, New York.
But ‘‘Downton Abbey’’ and ‘‘Girls,’ ’
bothhugely popular, sometimesseem
to betalking to each other.And it is a
conversation of richer importanceto
ourpolitics and culturethan the nudity
on one show and the costumes on the
other might initially suggest.
Onissue afterissue, Americans con-
tinue to debate the limits of individual
freedom—whether to abort afetus or
ownagun orsell stocks orbuydrugs.
And in differentways,thetwotelevi-
sionshows address the promise and
limitations of the modern,Western em-
phasis on—even sacralization of —the
individual.
‘‘Downton’’ and ‘‘Girls’’ serve as
bookends in an era definedbyagrow-
ing cultof the self. ‘‘Downton’’ is about
the flourishing ofselfhood in a rigid,
early-20th-century society ofroles.
‘‘Girls’’ is about the chaos and exhaus-
tion ofselfhoodinafluid,early-21st-
century society that says you can be
anything but doesnot show you how.
‘‘I don’t know whatthe next year of
my life is going to be like at all,’ ’ says
Marnie, a smart, pretty, ratherlost
twentysomething on ‘‘Girls.’ ’ ‘‘I don’t
know whatthe nextweek of my life is
going to be like. Idon’t evenknow
what I want. SometimesIjustwish
someonewould tell me, like, ‘This is
how you should spend yourdays, and
this is how the restofyour life should
look.’ ’ ’
‘‘Downton’’ returns us to an earlier
stretch ofselfhood’sarc,when too little
guidancewas rarely the problem.
Set on a manorinwhich the hierarchy
and fixedness of the country — indeed,
of the Empire—areespecially concen-
trated, ‘‘Downton’’ is a world where
there is a way to doeverything, from
cleaning spoons to dressing for dinner.
Status has been and still seems immov-
able, and servantsmust act at least as
convinced of their inferiorityasthe
masters are. Novelty and that great lev-
eler, money, are reflexively suspected.
The drama is this world’s cracking
under the pressureofnew ideas like in-
dividualism. Thus the family driver, be-
lieving in equality and marrying for
ANDREWTESTA FOR THE NEWYORK TIMES
Bloomberg Place, in the City of London, is the future European home of Michael R. Bloomberg’s company and charity. ‘‘It’s not a timid building,’’ said the architect, Norman Foster.
An em
pire across the pond
LONDON
later told an aidetoMr. Johnson that he
had been unimpressed.
‘‘Won’t stay there again,’ ’ he said of
the 53,000-acre, or21,000-hectare, es-
tate.
Mr. Bloomberg has held partiesat his
two-story apartment n exclusive
Cadogan Square, although his mayor-
alty makesit hard to spendalot of time
there: Bermuda is a two-hour flight, but
a trip to London would leave him less
than preparedinanemergency.
Nowadays, heoftenspends less than 24
hours at a time in London, preferring to
sleep on his private jet.
The distance has not stopped Mr.
Bloomberg from trying,on two occa-
sions, to outfitthe homewith king-size
air-conditioning
gistsfrom theMuseum ofLondon were
combing thetemple site. Their efforts,
paid forbyBloomberg, have turned up
dozens ofartifacts, including coins,
pewterbowls, jewelry and, preserved
justwhere itwas found, ahuman skull.
When the plaza is finished,visitors
may descend fromBloomberg Placeto
view thetemple in its original setting.
The artifacts, however, become he
property ofBloomberg LP, spoils ofan
expanding modern-day empire.
In 2008, momentsafterhewas elected
London’smayor,Mr. Johnson was star-
tled to receive acellphone call froma
U.S. areacode. A familiar voice crackled
through.
‘‘Mazel tov,’’ said the mayor ofNew
York City.
Always eagerforglobal impact, Mr.
Bloomberg,whose mayoralty will end
Jan. 1, 2014, has not let the distance from
New York prevent him from dabbling in
British politics.
When Mr. Cameronsoughtthe prime
minister’s office in 2010, Mr. Bloomberg
arrangedfor toppolitical strategists
from SKDKnickerbocker to help out.
Mr. Bloomberg and his company have
contributednearly $1.5 million to Eng-
lish candidates and political parties.
The Anglophile mayor
of New York City sets
his sights on London
BYMICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
It is the biggest development in this
city’sbuzzing financial district, and even
Olympics-jadedLondoners call it gran-
diose: two bronze-and-stone towers,
connected by sky bridgesatop the ruins
ofa2,000-year-old Roman temple.
Bloomberg Place, roughly the size ofa
cityblock, is the future European home
of MichaelR. Bloomberg’scompany
and charity. But it is only one pieceof
the New York Citymayor’sgrowing
British empire.
He is underwriting a major expansion
of oneof England’smost prestigiousgal-
leries, in Kensington Gardens, designed
by the noted architectZaha Hadid.
He has theear ofLondon’s raffish
mayor, Boris Johnson,who dispatches
aides to CityHallinNew York for tutel-
age in municipal management.
Mr. Bloomberg and his aidescourtthe
city’s elite, holding expensive dinners
for tastemakers and important people
onDowning Street. The buzz is so great
thatoneof PrimeMinisterDavid
Cameron’s chief aides impishly floated
the idea ofaBloomberg candidacy— for
mayor ofLondon.
Ashe imaginesamore global life for
himself afterCityHall,unshackledfrom
the 24/7 needs ofrunning New York,Mr.
Bloomberg — an Anglophilewithataste
for English Regency style—is exporting
his vast quantities of financial, social and
political capital to this ancient city,
where he has long yearnedfor influence.
Manhattan is home, and Bermuda a
weekend escape, but no place has cap-
tured the mayor’s imagination like Lon-
don, a kind ofB oombergian utopia
where guns are banned, drivers pay a
fee at peak hours and bicycling is a pop-
ular modeofcommuting.
The affection, itturns out, is mutual:
Mr. Bloomberg wrote ablurb forabook
writtenbyMr. Johnson.
‘‘Mike’shadalot ofcut-through in
Britain,’ ’ Mr. Johnson said during in an
interview onaLondoncommuter train
last month. ‘‘We endlessly try to find
ways of entertaining him, but generally
speaking, it’s theother way around.’ ’
Mr. Johnsonstartedavolunteerpro-
gram modeledafter Mr. Bloomberg’s.
Bothhe and Mr. Cameronhave dined
withMr. Bloomberg in Manhattan.
‘‘WhenI’minNew York, I’m treated
like a king by Bloomberg, and it’s fant-
astic,’ ’ Mr. Johnson said.
Still, any foreign affair has its hiccups.
Mr. Bloomberg’sattempts to install
noisy air conditioners at his $20 million
Londonhome have earned the ireof
neighbors, prompting local officials to
call the plans ‘‘totally unacceptable.’’
And someof his more high-minded
policies, like limits on the size ofsoda
servings, have leftthe nativesbemused.
Just as he assiduously conqueredNew
York City’ssocial scene, Mr. Bloomberg
has, fromhis earliest days here, relied on
parties and philanthropy to propel him-
self into London’s upper echelon.
Hethrew himself into the city’scul-
tural scene, joining the boards of the
Serpentine gallery and theOld Vic
JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS
Mr. Bloomberg’s third and final term as
mayor of New York ends on Jan. 1, 2014.
units,
an
unusual
amenityinrainyLondon.
The plans have met withresistance.
Giulia Marsan, adescendantof the
founder ofFiat, who livesnext door to
Mr. Bloomberg,told the local planning
board that shewould ‘‘strongly object’’
to theunits, citing noise concerns.An
environmental officer agreed, and the
board laterrejected the plans.
Ms.Marsan, in a briefinterview, said
she barely sawMr. Bloomberg in the
neighborhood.
‘‘That’s the hope for everybody in
Cadogan Square,’’ she said. ‘‘You never
know what’sgoing on withyourneigh-
bors.’ ’
Often,Mr. Bloomberg picks other
placesinwhich to entertain. He has
dinedat Le Gavroche, a high-end
French restaurant namedforastreet
urchin in ‘‘Les Misérables,’ ’ witha$280
tasting menu. Onarecenttrip, he held a
dinner withLouis B. Susman,theU.S.
ambassador; Kevin Spacey,the actor;
GeorgeOsborne, the chancellor of the
Exchequer; and HoneysuckleWeeks, a
young English actress Mr. Bloomberg
admired.
Ms.Weeks latergushedabout the
‘‘special dinner’’ to The Daily Mail.Mr.
Bloomberg was less impressed: Hewas
disappointed whenhe learned thatMs.
Weeks smoked.
Mr. Bloomberg has long sought a
placeon the map — literally.Years ago,
therewas talk that hewanted to rename
Finsbury Square, site of his company’s
office, after himself.
Heended upgetting anothersquare
instead.
Bloomberg Place, soon to been-
shrined on the Londonmap, is currently
amudpit crawling withcranes and bull-
dozers. By 2016, itwill be hometoafu-
turistic campusdesignedbythe archi-
tect Sir Norman Foster: It is to include a
pair of undulating office buildings, pe-
destrian plazas, spacesfor 390 bicycles,
and, if Mr. Bloomberg gets his way,
branches ofNew York restaurants.
‘‘It’snot a timid building,’ ’ Mr. Foster
said by telephone from his home in
Switzerland. ‘‘Itwill leave a large im-
pression onLondon.’ ’
Some neighbors are less generous,
calling the development ‘‘a bulky, im-
penetrable mass.’ ’
The development represents Mr.
Bloomberg’sfuture, but he is also buy-
ingapieceofLondon’s past.
In one corner of the development sits
the Templeof Mithras, arelic fromLon-
don’sdaysunderRoman rule. Firstun-
coveredin1954,thetemple, a sacrificial
altar for an ancient religion, is being re-
stored withMr. Bloomberg’smoney.
Last month, a team of 55 archaeolo-
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School makes case for standard English
‘‘Kids in many parts of the world (think India) learn multiple dialects
simultaneously, and they learn to use the right one in the right
circumstances. . . . So, kids in USA or UK can do the same with the various
dialects of English. I simply hope that we can all avoid labeling one or
another dialect as ‘better.’ ’’
JENNYCHU2, HONG KONG
ihtrendezvous.com
ANDREWTESTA FOR THE NYT
Mr. Bloomberg’s two-story apartment on
London’s exclusive Cadogan Square.
ANDREWTESTA FOR THE NYT
Mr. Bloomberg has forged close ties to
Boris Johnson, his London counterpart.
And he has spoken twice at gatherings
of Britain’sConservative Party,whose
center-right, business-friendly viewshe
shares.
The modern Londonmayor’s office
was createdin2000; Mr. Bloomberg has
offeredsomething ofaguide.
‘‘It is very helpfulforme politically in
London to have such a greatexampleof
amunicipal authorityinNewYork,’ ’ Mr.
Johnson said.
The Londonmayorsent his new chief
ofstaff to New York forseveral days of
training withMr. Bloomberg’sdeputies.
Following Mr. Bloomberg’s example, he
pursued private foundations to pay for
pilot projects, and,whenhe starteda
volunteerprogram similar to New
York’sCities ofService, members of Mr.
Bloomberg’sstaff flew across the At-
lantic to help implement it.
Some Londoners, ickledbyMr.
Bloomberg’s nanny-state projectsin
New York, compareMr. Bloomberg to
Titus Salt, a19th-century English indus-
trialistwho carefully monitored his
workers’vices.Ale consumption, forin-
stance, was strictly limited.
‘‘I’mnot certain I would try to tell the
peopleofLondonabout the dimensions
of their Coke portions,’ ’ Mr. Johnson
said.
As his train nearedLondon Bridge
station,Mr. Johnson had an idea.
‘‘We could do aswap,’ ’ said Mr. John-
son,whowas born in New York.
‘‘When’she standing down?’’
IN OUR PAGES
✴
100, 75, 50 YEARS AGO
1913 Spanish Observe Holiday
MADRID
Thetraditional Ash-Wednes-
day ceremony at Court attracted a large
crowd of all classes of the Spanish
peopletothe Royal Palace. Carpets, spe-
cially made by the Royal Tapestry Fac-
tory, had been laid in the galleries. These
carpets,which are 1,000 mètreslong by 6
mètres wide, are said to have cost more
than 260,000 pesetas. King Alfonso, in
theuniform ofacaptain-general ofin-
fantry, and wearing theOrder of the
GoldenFleece, the Collar of Carlos III,
and the red band of theorder of Military
Merit, led the Royal procession. The
Queenfollowed, looking most royal. The
jewels shewore included a diamond
tiara and a fine pearl necklace.
1938 Al Capone Goes Berserk
SAN FRANCISCO
Al Capone, formerNo. 1
gangster of theUnitedStates, has
broken under the severe prison disci-
plineof the notorious Alcatraz Island,
the ‘‘San Francisco News’’ revealed
today [Feb.8]in an exclusive story.Ac-
cording to reports, Capone suddenly
went ‘‘berserk’’ lastweek, and has since
beenconfinedinthe prisonhospital, suf-
fering fromamental collapse. He is
serving a ten-year sentence in the Fed-
eral penitentiary which houses the most
dangerous and incorrigible criminals
snaredbythe Federal forces,on the
grounds of income-tax evasion. Capone,
itwas stated, suddenly broke down,
kickedseveral convictsinassembly, and
before and afterbeing subduedbythe
guards, sang arias fromItalian operas.
1963 Iraq’s Neighbors Watching
BEIRUT
The overthrow of the Iraqi re-
gimetoday put itsneighboring statesin
aposition of tensewatchfulness. Iraq
borders on sixMiddle Eastern countries
—Turkey, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia,
Jordan and Syria. The northeasttip of
Iraq is less than 300 air milesfromSo-
viet Armenia. Iran’sforces on thewest-
ern frontier withIraqwere alerted and
reinforced. Immediately after theupris-
ing the Iraqi authoritiesclosed the fron-
tier with Iran and all transportationbe-
tween the two countriesceased.
ANDREWTESTA FOR THE NYT
Artifacts from an ancient Roman temple
that rests on the Bloomberg Place site.
theater.Apublic relations firm was
hired to make introductions in London
society.
Inacountry wherethe government
often finances the arts,Mr. Bloomberg
adoptedamoreU.S. styleofcorporate
giving, stamping his name in museums
where he paid foraudio guides and
sponsoring the Royal Courttheater’s
‘‘Bloomberg Mondays,’ ’ when tickets
are sold at a discount.
He bought aboxatAscot, the high-so-
cietyhorse racing grounds, and flew in
celebritiesbyhelicopterfromLondon.
Guestsreceivedaphotograph of them-
selves drinking Champagnewith the
top-hattedhost.
Even the royal family was in his
sights.Mr. Bloomberg once spent a
night atPrince Charles’shome in Scot-
land, known as Birkhall. The mayor,
who keeps luxurioushomes himself,
....
World N
ews
SATURDAY-SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9-10, 2013
|
3
THE GLOBAL EDITION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES
europe
Horse meat affair
grows in Europe
MEAT, FROMPAGE 1
exactly wherethis is happening.’ ’
On Friday, he amplifiedconcerns
about the scopeof the scandal. ‘‘It’snot
just confined — as we thought initially
—toIreland,’ ’ he said. ‘‘This has spread
to France, to Luxembourg,totheU.K.,
Poland are involved and the Nether-
lands. So it really is a Europeanwide
problem thatwehave.’’
Meat fromhorsesisno more harmful
than that fromcattle, though therewere
some fears — as yet not substantiated
by tests —that phenylbutazone, an
equine drug, could find its way into the
food chain. But atthevery least, the
mislabeling has calledinto question
whetherconsumers can be assured of
what is going into their food.
The labeling ofhorsemeat as beef has
breached oneof the great culinary ta-
boos of Britain and Ireland, two coun-
tries that pridethemselves on their love
ofcertain animals, particularly horses.
The factthatthe sourceof the meat ap-
pears to have been mainland Europe,
wherethe consumption ofhorse meat is
more common, has increased the divide
and raisedsuspicions offraudbecause
beefismoreexpensive than meat from
horses.
Though public healthisnot at present
at issue, government oversight is, and
the latest developmentshave echoes of
earlierEuropean food safety crises —
frommad cow disease in Britain to diox-
in in eggs and poultry in Belgium —
which tended to mushroom once inves-
tigators tracedproducts through the
continent’scomplex web ofproducers,
food makers and suppliers.
That has fueled worriesabout what
exactly has beengoing into cheaper
hamburgers consumed in millions in
British schools, hospitals and prisons,
leaving regulators, politicians and
companies scrambling to safeguard
their reputations, andmillions ofdollars
in earnings and investment.
A report released lastweekbythe
Grant Thorntonaccountancy and con-
sulting firm expressedconcern about
the fallout from the horse meat fiasco.
‘‘The recent issue with traces of impor-
tedhorse DNA in beefburgers could
translate into millions of euro lost for
the industry,’ ’ it said.
Withconcern growing,the FoodStan-
dards Agency of Britain orderedretail-
ers to test all processedbeefproducts,
and large noticeshave been displayed
in British storesseeking to reassure
worriedcustomers.
In January,theAmerican fast food
chain Burger King placedadvertise-
mentsinahostof British tabloids both
to reassure and apologize to itscustom-
ers after acknowledging that ‘‘very
small trace levels’’ ofhorse DNAwere
found in four samples takenfromitsIr-
ish supplier, Silvercrest. ‘‘Oursupplier
has failed us and in turn we have failed
you,’’ it said.
Politicians, meanwhile, have been
challenged to say whether they would
noweat a hamburgerlurking in the back
of their freezer,orcould guarantee that
all schoolmeals are horse meat-free.
‘‘This is a very shocking story, it is
completely unacceptable’’ PrimeMinis-
terDavid Cameron said in Brussels.
‘‘This isn’t really about food safetyit’s
about effective food labeling, it’sabout
properretail practice. And peoplewill
bevery angry to find out theyhave been
eating horsewhen they thoughtthey
wereeating beef.’ ’
Indeed,they were. The shadow envir-
onment secretary,Mary Creagh, said
shewould stop eating processedbeef.
‘‘We’ve had 10 millionbeefburgers
withdrawn,’ ’ shetold BBC Radio 4’s
Today program. ‘‘Whattestshave been
conducted on them, if any? ’’
Therewas finger-pointing all around.
‘‘There is a commonstrand here going
through this,’ ’ said AnneMcIntosh,
chair of the Environment, Food and Ru-
ral Affairs parliamentary select com-
mittee of Britain,on BBC Radio, ‘‘ofim-
portedmeat coming from other
European Unioncountries — noneof
the meat as yet seems to have come
from this country — it is sending shock-
waves through the farming community
and denting consumerconfidence.’’
It reassurednooneon Friday when
Findus acknowledged that itwas aware
ofhorsemeat in its lasagna two days be-
foreordering the recall afterComigel, its
French supplier, raisedconcerns about
thetypeofmeatused. The companies
maintained that food safety was not at
risk, but some supermarketshave also
removedComigelproducts.On Friday,
Findus extendeditsrecall to Sweden.
Adding to the frenzy one British law-
maker, TomWatson, published extracts
fromaletterhe said was sent by Findus
to one retailersuggesting that products
suppliedaslong ago as lastAugust may
have beenaffected. Findus,which is
ownedbyL on Capital,the private
equity firm,would not commenton that
claim but, in a statement, said itwas
‘‘sorry thatwehave let people down’’
and was ‘‘acting to make surethis can-
not happen again.’ ’
Still,Mr. Reilly, Ireland’sfood safety
executive, described the latest findings
as ‘‘very serious’’ for Findus and other
major manufacturers. He said investi-
gations were continuing into the pres-
enceofhorse meat in processing plants
in Ireland and these included tests of
beefproducts other than hamburgers.
Earlier Irish food inspectors revealed
t
hat some horse meat had beenfound in
ALESSANDRO BIANCHI/REUTERS
Italy’s caretaker prime minister, Mario Monti, seated, called Silvio Berlusconi’s promise to refund property taxes in cash a ‘‘poisoned meatball,’’ disconnected from reality.
Campaigns get personal in Italy
ITALY, FROMPAGE 1
‘‘Berlusconi is politically dead, but his
electorate is still there and it is looking
foranew leader and there isn’t one,’’
said Massimo Franco, apolitical colum-
nist forCorriere della Sera. ‘‘So it’sa
sortofanostalgic operation.’ ’
In an auditoriumnear theVatican on
Thursday,Mr. Berlusconi was greeted
by rows ofadoring fans, mostof them
retirees and bottle blondesinfurcoats.
‘‘Ah,’ ’ he said. ‘‘It reminds meof the
good old days.’ ’ Joking about his age,
the76-year-old added, ‘‘I lookedat my-
self in the mirror and saw someonewho
didn’t look like me. Theydon’t make
mirrors theway they used to.’’
In a two-hour-long, ff-the-cuff
speech, he returned to familiar themes:
depicting the left as unreconstructed,
Cold War Communists; magistratesas
politically motivated; heeuro and
Chancellor Angela Merkel ofGermany
as harming Italy; and Mr.Montiasa
leaderbeholden to foreign interests
who did nothing but raisetaxes.
His supporters were mostly buying it.
‘‘Evenifhe doesn’t refund us the prop-
erty tax, at least he’ll take it away,’ ’ said
Francesca Cipriani, 70, aretiree, as she
cheered Mr. Berlusconi. ‘‘Myhouse is
worth 0 percent less,’ ’ Nicola
Manichelli,75, aretired taxi driver,
chimedin.
‘‘Berlusconi voters fear thatMonti
will raisetaxes, and thatunderBer-
lusconi thatwon’t happen,’ ’ said Mar-
cello Sorgi, acolumnist for the Turin
daily La Stampa. ‘‘It’snot at all true, but
Berlusconi’spropagandaworkswith his
ings that some critics say areundermin-
ing the authority of the slyly ironic but
hardly showmanlike candidate, more
than humanizing him.
Lastweek, an interviewerpresented
Mr.Monti withapuppy onlive televi-
sion, days after Mr. Berlusconi ap-
peared with one. ‘‘This is a mean black-
mail,’ ’ Mr.Monti said with a smile,
before stroking the fluffy pet and say-
ing, ‘‘Feelhow soft it is.’ ’
Mr. Bersani, along-time party veteran
and former economic growth minister,
speaks moretotheold guard of the Itali-
an left. He defeated Matteo Renzi,the
charismatic 38-year-old mayor of
Florence, inarare party primary and has
beenrunning with the slogan, ‘‘A Just
Italy,’ ’ amessage aimedat reassuring
voters but which may not inspirethem.
In a half-hourspeech onThursday to
party oyalists, including municipal
workers and frustrated universityad-
junctteachers,Mr. Bersani calledatten-
tion to youth unemploymen
t and the
disconnect between the real economy
and financial markets, and calledfor
economic stimulation to help more
people have steady jobs. ‘‘Europe isn’t
justthe fiscal compact,’’ he said.
Both Mr. Berlusconi and Mr. Bersani
appear to speak moretotheir owncon-
stituencies than to the nationasawhole,
long a characteristic ofItalian politics.
Faced withapolitical class that seems
stuck in the pastMr. Grillo and his anti-
political Five Star Movement have been
gaining ground, campaigning in piazzas
across Italy.
and the political uncertainty weighs on
financial markets.
Some comparetheelection to power
struggles onacorporate board. ‘‘Mr.
Berlusconi knowshe can’t govern, but
wantsastrong seat atthetable,’’ said
Marco Damilano, apolitical reporterfor
L’Espressoweekly. The Democratic
Party will have the majority ofseatsbut
will not be abletogovern without mak-
ing accords. ‘‘Monti wants the golden
share,’’ in which his few seatscount for
alot, he added.
Many outsiders marvelatthe surviv-
al skills of Mr. Berlusconi,who dragged
downItaly’s finances and standing to
‘‘We are no longer talking
about trace amounts.’’
some burgers stockedbyanumber of
British supermarket chains, including
Tesco, Iceland and Lidl. The meatwas
suppliedbytwo plantsinIreland.After
an estimated10millionhamburgers were
removedfromsupermarket shelvesin
Ireland and Britain,Poland was identi-
fiedasthe sourceof that horsemeat.
The Irish agriculture minister, Simon
Coveney, said he had instructed the po-
licetojoin an inquiry conducted by his
department’sspecial investigation unit
after tests this weekconfirmed 75per-
centequine DNA in a raw material in-
gredient atthe Rangeland Foods pro-
cessing plant in County Monaghan. It
was the fifthsuch instance at pro-
cessing plants across Ireland over the
last month.
Ironically the scandal may have
brokenjust as some Britons were start-
ing to reconsider their disdain forhorse
meat. Frederic Berkmiller, aFrench
chef who serveshorse at L’escargot
Bleu restaurant in Edinburgh, said the
meat had provedpopular withcustom-
ers since itwas put on themenu two and
a half years ago.
But he addedanimportant caveat.
‘‘The purchaser has the righttoknow
whattheyare buying,’ ’ he said.
Douglas Dalby reported fromDublin
ODD ANDERSEN/AFP
Pier Luigi Bersani, leader of the center-
left Democratic Party, now holds only a
marginal lead over Mr. Berlusconi.
‘‘Berlusconi’s propaganda
works with his electorate. His
electorate still has a messianic,
religious rapport with him.’’
electorate. His electorate still has ames-
sianic, religious rapportwith him; Ber-
lusconi is considered a kind ofguru.’’
Not sowith Mr.Monti,who is beloved
in Brussels, Berlin and Washingtonbut
has been ess popular withItalian
voters.Ashe learns to campaign,Mr.
Monti, an economistwithno previous
political experience, has soughtthe ser-
vices of AKPDConsulting,whose co-
founder, David Axelrod, President
Barack Obama’skeystrategist, visited
Mr.MontiinRome last month.
Mr.Monti,who is trying to capture
the civic-mindedcentristsfromboth
right and leftwhoonce votedfor the
centrist Christian Democratsbeforethe
party disbandedinacorruption scandal
in theearly 1990s, alsoopenedaFace-
book page. Heusesittopost folksymus-
the pointthatMr.Monti was broughton
in November2011 to lead an emergency
technocratic governmentthat lasteda
year. But at least agood partof his suc-
cess has to dowith his competition.
Mr.Monti lacks a strong party and
has hit Italians with unpopular taxes,
and centrists who might lean left are
concerned thatMr. Bersani would be
weak on the flagging economy.On top of
that, Mr. Berlusconi,whose center-right
Peopleof Libertyismore a charismatic
movementthan a party, has true loyal-
ists who do not knowwhereelsetoturn.
English cities squabble
over bones of
Richard III
LEICESTER, ENGLAND
BY JOHN F. BURNS
Just days after the yellowedbonesfound
inamunicipal parking lot herewere de-
clared to bethoseof King Richard III, a
less-than-seemly tug of war has broken
out between the cities ofLeicester and
York to claim the remains.
Whileothers have revived the centu-
ries-old dispute about Richard—wheth-
erhewas Shakespeare’s‘‘poisonous,
bunch-back’d toad’’ and ruthless mur-
derer of two princely nephewshe im-
prisonedinthe Tower ofLondon,or
champion of the common man and au-
thor ofreforms that channeled charity to
the poor — it tookLeicester and York
littletimetocompute the benefitsinhav-
ing him buriedintheir precincts, gener-
ating revenuesfrom tourists eager to
see the burial site and tour thevisitor
centers the two citieshave planned.
Though barely 100 miles,or160 kilo-
meters, apart, Leicesterinthe English
Midlands and York in the country’s
northern reacheshave widely differing
claims. Leicesternotes that it is a couple
ofhours away by horse from where
Richard was killedin1485, atthe Battle
ofBosworthField, and that he lay for
centuries in a shallow grave in the heart
of the city.York’s riposte has been to de-
pict Leicesteraslittle morethan a way
station in Richard’s life.
The northern city’s officials have
noted,edgily,that Richard’s ancestral
A debate of O
lympic proportions emerges for Russia
ter,who decidedin2011 that Russia
should abandon daylight saving time,
widening the gap withEurope for six
months of the year.
Mr.Medvedev has watched many of
his liberal-leaning policy changesbeun-
done since his mentor,Vladimir V.
Putin, returned to the Russian presiden-
cy last year.Mr.Medvedev seems to
view thetime change as an important
decisionhewants to preserve.
Thetopic is so delicate thatofficials of
the International Olympic Committee re-
cently denied asking Mr. Putin to revert
to daylight saving time, and said they
had asked only forRussia’s Olympics
planning team to consider the issue.
Whenreports emergedThursday that
Mr. Putin had cut adeal withI.O.C.offi-
cials to resume daylight saving time
next year,Mr.Medvedev spoke out pub-
licly and with uncharacteristic force.
‘‘The government finds a new correc-
tion of time in the current period unad-
visable,’’ Mr.Medvedev told govern-
ment ministers at a cabinet meeting.
Heurged thatthe government con-
sult medical doctors and other experts
as well as measure public opinionbe-
fore making another change.
Ofcourse, the outcome has real-life
consequencesfor140 millionRussian
citizens,who grapplewith the chal-
lenges ofbeing spread across ninetime
zones.
In Moscow, leaving the clocks un-
changedmeans that formuch of the
winter, peoplewakeupinthe dark, ar-
rive at school and work in the dark and
return home in the dark.
‘‘In Moscow it’s unbearable,’’ said a
seniorRussian official who askednot to
be identified while sharing a personal
opinion. ‘‘You simply lose yourliving
power, because you don’t see sun.’ ’
To be sure, Russia has always taken
an idiosyncratic approach to time.
Official railroad schedulesare printed
only in Moscow time, and arrivals and
departuresare similarly shown that
way on electronic billboards in every
station—evenincities likeVladivostok,
seven timezonesaway in the Far East.
Mr. Putin has not publicly statedapo-
sition on thetime issue, though the de-
cision is his to make.
OnThursday, hewas in Sochi with
I.O.C.officials, presiding overacelebra-
tion to starttheone-year countdown to
the Games.Also Thursday, new details
emerged of Mr. Putin’sfury overcon-
structiondelays and cost overruns fora
ski-jump that is partof theOlympics
mountain cluster. The cost had soared
to about $2.4 billionfromaprojected
$400million. In a video ofMr. Putin tour-
ing the site on Wednesday, he appeared
incredulous, repeating aloud the
amountof the projectedcost overrun.
‘‘Well done,’’ he said sarcastically.
Nikolay Khalip contributed reporting.
SOCHI, RUSSIA
BY DAVIDM. HERSZENHORN
A year beforetheworld’s top ski racers
are due to rocket down the Rosa Khutor
alpinetrack here in the CaucasusMoun-
tains, a sharp debate is under way
among seniorRussian officials overhow
to keep time attheWinter Olympics
next year — not thetimeon the race
clocks, but the actual timeofday.
The crux of the matterishow many
hours ahead Russia will be—twoor
three — compared withmostofEurope
whenSochi holds the 2014 Winter
Olympics.Whilethe difference may
seem slight, at stake are broadcast
rights worth billions ofdollars and the
added viewership and profitability of
showing the Games in primetime.
Also hanging in the balance appears
to bethe legacy offormer President
Dmitri A. Medvedev, now prime minis-
rootslayinthe Houseof York, an antag-
onist in theWars of theRoses that lasted
30 years and pitted theYorkists against
theHouseof Lancasterinrival claims to
thePlantagenet monarchy, which
ended with Richard’sdeath. Itwas in
York,the city’s champions say,where
Richard spent much of his youth, and
where hetold contemporaries that he
wished to be buried.
Asmatters stand, Leicesterseems
likely to win, since it is wherethe skelet-
onnow affirmedbyateam of experts to
be Richard’s was discovered last au-
tumn, inacorner of the parking lot of
the city’ssocial servicesdepartment.
Leicester’scase forreburying the
bonesatthe city’s Anglican cathedral, a
stone’s throw from the parking lot, is
anchoredinaprovisionintheexhuma-
tion license, granted last summerbythe
British government, specifying thatthe
reburial take place atthe cathedral.
The king’sremains were buriedina
corner of the chapel of a Franciscan
monastery,the Greyfriars Priory,that,
like Richard, fell victim to the Tudor
kings whenHenry VIII dissolved the
monasteries and seized their wealth
about 50 years after Richard’sdeath.
Long beforetherewas a parking lot, the
priory had disappeared, itsstonewalls
and tiledfloors looted,until all that re-
mained werethetrace foundations that
were discovered when the dig super-
visedbyateam of expertsfrom theUni-
versity ofLeicester uncovered Rich-
ard’sbonesinSeptember.
恭贺新禧
蛇 年大吉!
MANFRED & CHRISTINA HÖRGER, HOTELIERS
www.savoy-zuerich.ch
....
4
|
SATURDAY-SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9-10, 2013
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
world news
europe africa middle east
BRIEFLY
Europe
Gunmen
attack polio
aid workers
in Nigeria
KANO, NIGERIA
DUBLIN
I.R.A. splinter groups urged
by Sinn Fein to end violence
Gerry Adams, leader of the Irish nation-
alist Sinn Fein party,on Friday appealed
to splintergroups of the Irish Republi-
can Army to stop their violence and to
support his campaign foravote in
Northern Ireland on uniting the island.
Mr.Adams, aformerI.R.A. com-
mander, said that sporadic attacks by
small I.R.A. factions made it harder to
build public support for uniting North-
ern Ireland with the Republic ofIreland.
Mr.Adams this year has beguna
campaign seeking a referendumin
Northern Ireland on Irish unity, apossi-
bilitycontainedinthe Good Friday
peace accord of1998. But he said mem-
bers of the British territory’s Protest-
ant majorityneeded to be persuaded
peacefully to switch allegiance, not
threatened with violence.
(AP)
Anti-Putin protester arrested
on charges of attacking police
AMoscow district court has arresteda
participant inaprotest lastMay on
charges ofrioting and attacking the po-
lice.
Investigators said Thursday that
they had video evidencethatthe pro-
tester, Ilya Guschin, 24, grabbedapo-
liceofficerbyhisuniform and tried to
throw him to the ground during a con-
frontationbetweenhundreds ofdemon-
strators and the police inMoscow.
If convicted ofboth charges, he could
be sentenced to up to 13 years in prison.
Mr. Guschin is oneof20 people facing
similar chargesafter nine months ofin-
vestigations into the protests against
Vladimir V. Putin shortly before he re-
turned to the presidency.
PARIS
Regional Louvre branch shuts
2 galleries after vandalism
The Louvre-Lens museuminnorthern
France shut two galleries Friday after
a28-year-old woman scribbled
‘‘AE911’’ with a black marker across
the bottom ofEugène Delacroix’s
painting ‘‘LibertyLeading thePeople.’’
Thewoman was arrestedThursday
evening and questionedbythe police.
‘‘Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth’’
is a Website whose backers say they
are seeking to establish thetruth of the
attacks ofSept. 11, 2001, in theUnited
States.
(REUTERS)
BERLIN
President confirms Sept. 22 elections
President JoachimGauck on Friday
confirmedSept. 22 as the date forGer-
man parliamentary elections, in which
Chancellor AngelaMerkel will seeka
third term.Ms.Merkelremains popu-
lar with voters, but recent polls show a
majorityneitherforhercurrent coali-
tionnorforarival center-left allianceof
the Social Democrats and Greens.
(AP)
YEREVAN, ARMENIA
Suspects held in shooting of politician
Armenia’sNational Security Agency
said Friday that it had arrested two
suspectsinthe shooting ofapresiden-
tial candidate. Paruir Airikian was shot
and woundedbyanunidentified assail-
ant near his home in theArmenian cap-
ital a weekago. The agency said the
suspectsconfessed to participating in
the attack.
(AP)
Islamic sect suspected
in killings of women
delivering vaccinations
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gunmensuspected ofbelonging to a
radical Islamic sect shot and killedat
least ninewomen whoweretaking part
in a poliovaccination drive in northern
Nigeria on Friday,the police said, high-
lighting the religious tensions sur-
rounding the inoculation of childrenin
oneof the fewnations wherethe disease
remains endemic.
The attack shockedresidents of Kano,
the largest city in Nigeria’spredomin-
antlyMuslimnorth,wherewomen often
go fromhousetohousetocarry out the
vaccinations. It also signaledanew
wave of anger against immunization
drives in Nigeria,where clerics once
claimed thatthevaccines were partofa
Western plot to sterilize girls.
The first attack Friday morning oc-
curredintheHotoroHayi neighborhood
of Kano, whengunmen arrivedby
three-wheel taxis and openedfire. At
leasteight femalevaccinators diedin
that attack,witnesses said.
Fourpeoplewere killedinthe second
attack, in theUnguwa Uku neighbor-
hood, according to witnesses,who
spokeoncondition ofanonymity out of
fear of angering the radical sect, known
as Boko Haram.
But confusionsurrounded the death
toll.AKano State police spokesman said
ninepeoplehad been killedinthe attacks.
A local hospital later said it had received
only two corpsesfrom theUnguwa Uku
attack and four woundedpeople.
Definitive death tolls forsuch attacks
in Nigeria are difficulttoobtain. The po-
lice and military forcesroutinely play
downsuch casualties, and familiesbury
the dead beforethe next sunset in keep-
ing withMuslim tradition.
The police said they had no immedi-
ate suspectsfor the attacks, but wit-
nesses said theybelieved that Boko
Haram had beenbehind the shootings.
Boko Haram,whose name means
‘‘Western education is sacrilege’’ in the
Hausa language, has beenbehind a
series of violent attacks across northern
Nigeria as partofits fight againstthe
weak central government.
Boko Haram is blamedfor killing al-
most 800 people last year in Nigeria.
There have been otherattacks on
poliovaccinators in Kano. In October,
the police said two officers involvedin
guarding a polio immunization drive
there had beenshot and killed. State
governmentofficials who oversee the
vaccinationprogram did not immedi-
ately respond to requestsforcomment
about the attack Friday.
The suspicionsurrounding poliovac-
cinations in Nigeria explodedin2003,
when a Kano physician heading the Su-
preme Council for Shariah,or Muslim
law, in Nigeria said thevaccines had
been‘‘corrupted and taintedbyevil-
doers from America and their Western
allies.’ ’ That led to hundreds ofnew in-
fections in children in Nigeria’snorth.
The 2003 outbreak ofpolio in Nigeria
eventually
RINA CASTELNUOVO FOR THE NEWYORK TIMES
Rabbi Dov Lipman, who grew up in Maryland, was elected last month to the Israeli Parliament and is working toward integrating the insular ultra-Orthodox into the broader society.
A rabbi’s q
uest to ‘equalize the burden’
‘‘I sharethe samevalue system,’ ’
Rabbi Lipman said, citing the impor-
tanceofstudying Torah,the ‘‘fears
about societal influence’’ and the desire
to limit interactionbetweenmen and
women. ‘‘TheHaredimhave donethem-
selves a disservice by saying it’s us
againstthem and we willnot be partof
Israeli society.’ ’
Rabbi Lipman, 41,was sworn in Tues-
day as oneof48 first-time lawmakers —
themost sincetheearliest days of Israe-
li independence. The new 120-seat body
also has moreOrthodoxmembers (39)
than ever and morewomen (27), includ-
ing the first born in Ethiopia and the
youngest member ever elected, Stav
Shaffir,who is 27 and was a leader of the
2011 social protest movement.
Rabbi Lipman, an educator and au-
t
hor of three books, is alsothe first legis-
Partyreceived1,273 of the city’s29,593
votes.
Rabbi Lipman,whowept last month
uponrenouncing his American citizen-
ship —which Israelrequired that he do
beforeentering Parliament—acknowl-
edges that he doesnot quite fit in.While
many ultra-Orthodoxshun television
and the Internet, he allows his 15-year-
old son to watch ESPN highlights on the
computer, cautioning him to avert his
eyes when immodestly dressed women
are shown on screen.
He said he took his four children, now
ages 8to15, out of ultra-Orthodox
schools because hewanted his son to be
abletoplay baseball and his daughters
to marry men educated to work as well
as study Torah. He is also an oddball
within Yesh Atid: He is oneof the rare
skullcap-wearers in the room (the No. 2
of the party, Shai Piron, is also a rabbi),
and often theonly onewho avoids shak-
ing hands with women orhugging them.
‘‘It’sdestroying usasapeople—the
labeling and having to fit into a label,’ ’
Rabbi Lipman said. ‘‘How aperson
servesGod ordoesn’t serve Godisa
personal thing, and we have to find a
way to create aJewish country where
people can bethemselves and every-
body respects each otherregardless.’ ’
‘‘A lot ofpeople lookat me and say I’m
naïve,’’ he added. ‘‘I’mnot naïve. I un-
derstand we’retalking about aprocess
that could take 100 years, if not more.’’
The son ofafederal judge in the
UnitedStates, Rabbi Lipman grew upin
Silver Spring,Maryland,where hewas
astar point guard on the basketball
team and leader of the student body at
his Orthodox high school.(In the year-
book, an English teacherpredictedhe
would become a U.S. senator).
Shortly afterhe moved to Israelin
2004, hewas hit byarock whileobser-
ving a Haredi protest near his home re-
garding desecration ofgraves. He keeps
iton his desk, along with a basketball
trophy and two autographed baseballs.
‘‘I was not prepared to have arock
thrownat me by anotherJew—psycho-
logically,theologically,’ ’ he said. ‘‘That’s
wherethis switch wentoff inmy head: I
have to do my parttoheal thesewounds
and get this society back on track.’ ’
As tensions grew betweenBeit
Shemesh’sHaredim and modern Ortho-
dox, he found himself working withsec-
ular forcesfrom elsewherewhowere
fighting draftexemptions and advocat-
ing religiouspluralism.
Rabbi Lipman started the Beit
Shemesh branch of Yesh Atid last sum-
mer. In October, hewas tappedasacan-
didate, promising to vote with the party
‘‘on things that might be difficult for the
ultra-Orthodox.’ ’
Beyond the Haredi integrationques-
tion, Rabbi Lipman sees himself as a
representative for English-speaking im-
migrants. He alsowants to easethe con-
versionprocess forRussians and other
immigrants whose Judaism is ques-
tionedbytheultra-Orthodox rabbinate;
is prepared to evacuate someWest
Bank settlementsifthere is an interna-
tionally sanctionedpeace agreement
with thePalestinians; and would over-
turn the lawunder which womenhave
been arrestedfor praying attheWest-
ern Wall wearing prayer shawls tradi-
tionally usedbymen.
‘‘I’m very lonely,’ ’ he said. ‘‘There
aren’t alot ofpeoplethat agree with the
combination of where I’mcoming
from.’ ’
Irit Pazner Garshowitz andMyra Noveck
contributed reporting from Jerusalem.
BEIT SHEMESH, ISRAEL
BY JODI RUDOREN
Rabbi Dov Lipman’sintroduction to the
conundrum of theultra-Orthodoxin
modern Israelbegan morethan two de-
cadesago, whenhewas a 19-year-old
American student inaJerusalemye-
shiva. Itwas during the Gulf War,with
Scud missiles threatening Tel Aviv, yet
the prayerforIsraeli soldiers that is
commonly said daily in synagogues
worldwidewas not recitedatthe school.
‘‘I couldn’t understand any ideology
that justifiedliving here and not praying
for the soldiers who are risking their
livesfor us to be here,’’ said Rabbi Lip-
man,who grew upinMaryland. But
whenhe questioned the yeshiva rabbis
about it, he said ‘‘they had no answer’’
beyond ‘‘it’scomplicated— it’spolitics.’ ’
Now, Rabbi Lipman is playing a criti-
cal role in trying to unravel those com-
plicatedpolitics and integrate the insu-
lar ultra-Orthodoxinto the broader
society. Theyhave long livedaworld
apart: Theyattend separate schools
withacurriculumshortonmath, sci-
ence and English, rarely serve in the
military and have large familiesliving
on welfare because menstudy Torah
rather than work.
Rabbi Lipman was among the 19
peopleelected to the Israeli Parliament
last monthfrom the new Yesh Atid
Party,whose primary platform is to
‘‘equalize the burden’’ between theul-
tra-Orthodox, knownhere as Haredim,
and the restofsociety. But unlikethe
party’ssecular leader — and thevast
majority ofits voters — Rabbi Lipman
has an ultra-Orthodox background and
has tried to position himself as a con-
structive critic fromwithin.
He has an ultra-Orthodox
background and has tried
to position himself as a
constructive critic from within.
latorfromBeit Shemesh, acity of 80,000
people betweenJerusalem and Tel Aviv
that became an international symbol of
the conflictwhenagroup ofmen spat at
an 8-year-old girl onher way to schoolin
late 2011 becausetheyconsidered even
hermodest dress inappropriate. Rabbi
Lipman’sactivism after thatepisode
and in otherBeit Shemesh controversies
paved theway for his political future, but
also created critics closetohome.
He is beloved by many of the modern
OrthodoxinBeit Shemesh, but several
Haredi leaders here questioned his le-
gitimacy as a spokesman for their com-
munity, pointing out thattheYesh Atid
spread
throughout
the
world.
British cargo ship is attacked
by pirates off we
stern Africa
As Tunisia gr
ieves, anger at leaders and Islamists
farewell into amegaphone as military
helicopters circled.
‘‘Mybrother, my dear friend Chokri.
We will miss you,’’ Mr. Hammami said.
‘‘Tunisians, cometogether. The revolu-
tioncontinues.’ ’
A steady stream ofsupporters also
traveled to Mr. Belaid’shome, where a
circleofflowers and othermementos
marked the spot where hewas shot mul-
tipletimesat close range in his car on
Wednesday. No suspectshave beenar-
rested, further raising fears ofabroader
conflagration.
‘‘I’m afraid the country will descend
into chaos,’ ’ said Nuzha ben Yayha, a
mourner who cametopay herrespects.
The country’s laborfederationcalled
the first general strike in morethan
three decades to coincidewith the buri-
al, adding to acombustible mix of pas-
sions just two years after the overthrow
of PresidentZineel-Abidine Ben Ali
signaled the beginning of theArab re-
voltssweeping the region.
Theofficial TAP newsagency said the
national army had been ordered to ‘‘se-
cure’’ Mr. Belaid’sfuneral ‘‘and ensure
the protection of participants,’ ’ while
thetradeunionfederation had calledfor
a ‘‘peaceful’’ general strike ‘‘in order
not to serve theobjectives ofTunisia’s
enemies who had plannedChokri Be-
laid’sassassination.’ ’
OnThursday, protesters clashed with
riot policeofficers in several cities. In
Tunis, shutteredstores,tear gas and
running street battlesrecreated the at-
mosphereof thatuprising againstMr.
Ben Ali but withnoneof the hope. In-
stead, many worriedabout agrowing
instabilityfollowing the killing.Adding
to theuncertainties, Tunisia’sgovern-
ing Islamist-led party onThursday re-
TUNIS
BY KAREEM FAHIM,
DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
AND ALANCOWELL
In an outpouring of grief and anger,
thousands ofTunisians filled the capit-
al’s main cemetery on Friday to bury
Chokri Belaid, an oppositionpolitician
whose assassination this weekstirred
fears in Tunisia and throughout the re-
gion ofpolitical violencethat could sub-
verttheArab uprisings that began here
two years ago.
In bracing scenes that recalled the
2011 uprising against Tunisia’sautocrat-
ic leader — and in numbers not seen
since—mourners directedmuch of
their angerat Tunisia’spost-revolution-
ary government and the Islamist party
that leads it, deepening the senseofa
growing crisis.
Withmuch of the country quietedby
the largest laborstrike in decades —
calledinhonor of Mr. Belaid, a veteran
organizer—clashesbetweenprotesters
and the police raged outsidethewalls of
the cemetery, angering themourners as
tear gas canisters droppednear the
graves.Witnesses said the clashesstar-
tedafteryoung men vandalizedcars.
Theviolence, along withnumerous
robberies and fightsduring the over-
whelmingly peaceful march, caused
sometowonder whether Mr. Belaid’s
supporters were being provoked,
though noonewas sure by whom.
As theyawaited the arrival of Mr. Be-
laid’scoffin,the crowds sang Tunisia’s
national anthem and demanded the fall
of the government.
By the graveside, Hamma Hammami,
anotherlongtimeorganizer, shouteda
ian portofDouala and the portof
Malabo in Equatorial Guinea.
Armed hijackings have been on the
rise in the Gulf ofGuinea, an increas-
ingly important sourceof oil, cocoa and
metals for world markets.
Armed gangs have typically targeted
oil tankers and attacks oncargo ships
are rarer.
Carisbrooke said thatthe remaining
nine crew members onboard were safe
and the ship had continueditsjourney.
EarlierintheweekaLuxembourg-
flagged, French-owned tanker hijacked
off Ivory Coastwas released withits
crew of17 safe.
LONDON
REUTERS
Pirateshave attacked a British-owned
cargo ship in the Gulf ofGuinea,taking
three crew members hostage, theves-
sel’s owner said Friday.
The British-flagged ship, EstherC,
was boardedlate Thursday night by pir-
ates who stole some property, took the
seamen and left, theowner, Carisbrooke
Shipping, said in a statement.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said
that two ofitscitizens were among the
hostages takenbetween the Cameroon-
TARA TODRAS-WHITEHILL FOR THE NEWYORK TIMES
A protester ran from tear gas Friday in Tunis. Clashes erupted after the killing of the oppo-
sition leader Chokri Belaid, prompting fears that gains of the Arab Spring could be undone.
Religious Services
Association
of Int'l Churches
Paris and
Suburbs
Vietnam
jectedaproposal by the prime minister
to formanational unitygovernment.
The announcement by the party, En-
nahda, revealedgrowing strains within
amovementthat has promoteditsblend
of Islamist politics and pluralism as a
modelfor the region.
As t rejected the proposal by the
prime minister, Hamadi Jebali, amem-
ber of Ennahda,the group also publicly
rebuked oneofitsmost seniorleaders
and rejected his efforts to calm the polit-
ical crisis.
Mr. Jebali nonetheless insistedFriday
that he still intended to forge aheadwith
installing a technocratic leadership, but
that hewould simply replaceexisting
cabinet ministers withnonpolitical ex-
perts instead of dissolving the govern-
ment, TheAssociated Press reported.
ThetroublesinTunisia unsettled the
region and endangeredacountry that
was credited withavoiding the chaos
plaguing some itsneighbors. In the
sameway some had held upTunisia’s
transitionasanexample, politicians in
the regionstudied Mr. Belaid’s assassi-
nation and sawabroader warning.
Mr. Belaid’sdeath was seenasablow
to the country’s turbulenttransition,
raising the possibility thatthe political
violence in Tunisia had reached a dan-
gerousnew level.
David D. Kirkpatrick reported fromAnt-
akya, Turkey, and Alan Cowell fromParis.
MonicaMarks contributed reporting from
Tunis, and Rick Gladstone fromNew York.
NEW LIFE FELLOWSHIP,
Ho Chi Minh City.
English worship: 10:30 am Sunday.
Email: newlife@hcm.vnn.vn
Zurich
SAINT JOSEPH'S
English speaking
Catholic Church Mon-Fri. Masses
8:30am Sat. 11am & 6:30pm
(Vigil), Sunday Masses 9:30, 11,
12:30 & 6:30pm. 50 ave Hoche,
Paris 8th. Tel 01 42 27 28 56
Metro Charles de Gaulle - Etoile.
www.stjoeparis.org
ENGLISH SPEAKING
Catholic
Mission Zurich Minervastrasse 69
(see website for directions)
Tel. 044 382 02 06
Website: www. englishmission.ch
Mass times:
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and Sunday 11.15am (Church)
To place an ad
Please contact Vanessa Boyle on +33 1 41 43 92 06
or email vboyle@nytimesglobal.com
....
SATURDAY-SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9-10, 2013
|
5
THE GLOBAL EDITION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES
middle east
world news
A rift on aid to Syrian rebels comes to light
Refugee tide
from Syria
surges to
5,000 a day
and a fellow at theWashington Institute
for Near East Policy, said that providing
weapons would help the rebels in their
fight against a better-equipped govern-
ment that has warplanes, armor and ar-
tillery, and reduce rebel casualties.
Equally important, Mr. White said, it
would also give the United States influ-
ence with some of the groups that would
control Syria if Mr. Assad was ousted
and would diminish the influence of Is-
lamic extremists.
‘‘The day after the regime falls, the
groups that have the guns will dominate
the political and military situation,’’ Mr.
White said. ‘‘And if some of those
groups owe that capability to us, that
would be a good thing. It does not mean
that we would control the situation, but
it would give us a means of shaping it.’’
Taking a contrary view, Daniel C. Kur-
tzer, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel
and Egypt, said the potential risks out-
weighed the gains. Even with thorough
vetting, he said, it would be difficult to
WASHINGTON
Clinton and the Pentagon
wanted to give weapons,
but White House didn’t
GENEVA
BY NICK CUMMING-BRUCE
The civil war in Syria is now driving
5,000 people to seek safety in neighbor-
ing countries every day, the U.N.
refugee agency said Friday, reporting a
surge in numbers in January.
‘‘This is a full-on crisis,’’ Adrian Ed-
wards, a spokesman for the agency, said
in Geneva, reporting a 25 percent in-
crease in the number of Syrian refugees
registered in the region in January.
The surge brought the numbers this
week to 787,000, an increase of more
than 50 percent since mid-December,
Mr. Edwards said. The numbers now in-
clude 260,943 in Lebanon, the first coun-
try to exceed a quarter of a million Syr-
ian refugees; 242,649 in Jordan; 177,180
in Turkey; and 84,852 in Iraq.
The refugee agency reported in late
January that it was registering up to
1,800 refugees a day in Lebanon andwas
opening new registration centers to try
to cope with the influx. But its latest fig-
ures show that the daily flow of Syrians
to Lebanon is now more than 2,500 a
day, and the heavy fighting in and
around Damascus, the Syrian capital,
could send the numbers higher.
A report issued Thursday by Mé-
decins sans Frontières warned that ma-
jor gaps had arisen in assistance for
refugees in Lebanon and that their pro-
found humanitarian needs were not be-
ing met. The report found delays in re-
gistration, which opens up access to
help.
Fears are also mounting over the in-
creased risks of disease inside Syria,
particularly among the more than two
million estimated to have been dis-
placed by fighting, as a result of a dis-
ruption in Syria’s water supply.
The U.N. children’s agency, Unicef,
said Friday that a survey of six parts of
Syria, including the Damascus area,
Homs and Aleppo, found that people in
conflict areas were receiving about one-
third of the water they were getting be-
fore the crisis, and that the lack of wa-
ter-treatment chemicals increased the
risk that supplies had been contaminat-
ed.
BY MICHAEL R. GORDON
ANDMARK LANDLER
In his first term, President Barack
Obama presided over an administration
known for its lack of open dissension on
critical foreign policy issues.
But on Thursday, deep divisions over
what to do about one of those issues —
the rising violence in Syria — spilled in-
to public view for the first time in a blunt
exchange between Senator John Mc-
Cain, Republican of Arizona, and the
leaders of the Pentagon.
Testifying before the Senate Armed
Services Committee, Defense Secretary
Leon E. Panetta acknowledged that he
and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, had sup-
ported a plan last year to arm carefully
vetted Syrian rebels. But it was ulti-
mately vetoed by the White House, Mr.
Panetta said, although it was developed
byDavidH. Petraeus, the C.I.A. director
at the time, and backed by Hillary Rod-
hamClinton, then the secretary of state.
‘‘How many more have to die before
you recommend military action?’’ Mr.
McCain askedMr. Panetta on Thursday,
noting that an estimated 60,000 Syrians
had been killed in the fighting.
And did the Pentagon, Mr. McCain
continued, support the recommenda-
tion by Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Petraeus
‘‘that we provide weapons to the resis-
tance in Syria? Did you support that?’’
‘‘We did,’’ Mr. Panetta said.
‘‘You did support that,’’ Mr. McCain
said.
‘‘We did,’’ General Dempsey added.
Neither Mr. Panetta nor General
Dempsey explained why Mr. Obama did
not heed their recommendation. But se-
nior U.S. officials have said that the
WhiteHousewasworried about the risks
of becoming more deeply involved in the
Syria crisis, including the possibility that
weapons could fall into the wrong hands.
With Mr. Obama in the middle of a re-
election campaign, the White House re-
buffed the plan, a decision that Mr. Pan-
etta says he now accepts.
With the exception of General Demp-
sey, the officialswho favored arming the
rebels have either left the administra-
‘‘The day after the regime falls,
the groups that have the guns
will dominate the political and
military situation.’’
ensure that the weapons did not end up
with unreliable or hostile groups.
‘‘The problem that I think the White
House has identified much more clearly
than the national security team is, ‘Who
are you going to deal with?’ ’’ Mr.
Kurtzer said.
Much of the lengthy hearing was de-
voted to sparring over the Pentagon’s
response to the Sept. 11 attack on the
U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi,
Libya.
But the statements by the Pentagon
chiefs on Syria were so striking that
Senator LindseyGraham, Republican of
South Carolina, returned to them after a
break in the proceedings.
‘‘Both of you agreed with Petraeus
and Clinton that we should start looking
at military assistance in Syria, is that
correct?’’ Mr. Graham asked.
‘‘That was our position,’’ Mr. Panetta
said. ‘‘I do want to say, Senator, that ob-
viously there were a number of factors
that were involved here that ultimately
led to the president’s decision to make it
nonlethal.
‘‘And I supported his decision in the
end,’’ Mr. Panetta continued. ‘‘But my
answer to your question is yes.’’
SAUL LOEB/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta testified that he and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had supported a plan to arm Syrian rebels.
tion or, as in Mr. Panetta’s case, are
about to depart. Given that turnover, it
is perhaps not surprising that the de-
tails of the debate — an illustration of
the degree to which foreign policy de-
cisions have been centralized in the
White House — are surfacing only now.
A White House spokesman declined to
comment Thursday.
The plan thatMr. Petraeus developed,
and that Mrs. Clinton supported, called
for vetting rebels and training a cadre of
fighters who would be supplied with
weapons. The plan would have enlisted
the help of a neighboring state.
The proposal offered the potential re-
ward of creating Syrian allies for the
United States during the conflict and if
President Bashar al-Assad was re-
moved.
Some administration officials expect-
ed the issue to be revisited after the elec-
tion. But whenMr. Petraeus resigned be-
cause of an extramarital affair and Mrs.
Clinton suffered a concussion, missing
weeks of work, the issue was shelved.
Syrian rebel leaders have long ap-
pealed for weapons. Mohammad al-Haj
Ali, a Syrian major general who defec-
ted to the opposition, said in telephone
interview last year that he had raised
the issue of arming the resistance in a
September meeting in Amman with
Gen. James N. Mattis, the head of the
Central Command, which oversees op-
erations in the Middle East.
‘‘He was very sympathetic to it, but
his main concern was who would actu-
ally get hold of these weapons,’’ he said,
referring to General Mattis.
General Haj Ali said he promised that
the rebels who were armed would take
care not to lose control of the weapons
and would return any that they did not
use.
General Mattis ‘‘said he would meet
the top administration officialswithin 48
hours and get back to me,’’ General Haj
Ali said through an interpreter, adding
that he still had received no response
several weeks later.
The debate over arming the rebels is
complex and turns on assessments on
the military advantages they might
gain, the political calculations on who
might come to power in Syria, and the
dangers that the armsmight fall into the
wrong hands.
JeffreyWhite, a former senior analyst
with the Defense Intelligence Agency
5 car bombs
kill dozens
in Shiite
areas of Iraq
BAGHDAD
REUTERS
Five car bombs killed at least 34 people
in Shiite areas of Iraq on Friday, the po-
lice and medics said, as sectarian and
ethnic tensions intensify ahead of pro-
vincial elections in April.
Two car bombs were detonated simul-
taneously at a bus stop near a Friday
street market selling birds and other
pets in the Shiite district of Kadhimiya
inBaghdad, killing at least 16 people and
wounding 44, police and hospital offi-
cials said.
Footage of the scene showed dozens
of buses and taxis destroyed by the ex-
plosion and blood on the ground.
Continuing violence following the
withdrawal of U.S. troops in late 2011 is
stoking fears of a return to the sectarian
strife that killed tens of thousands of
Iraqis in 2006 and 2007.
Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki,
a Shiite, is facing mass protests by dis-
enchanted Sunni Muslims and is at log-
gerheads with ethnic Kurds who run
their northern region autonomously
fromBaghdad.
The prospect of the election is harden-
ing the divisions as political leaders ap-
peal to their constituencies with often
hostile rhetoric that rejects compro-
mise.
In the Shiite city of Hilla, about 100 ki-
lometers, or 60 miles, south of Baghdad,
15 people were killed in two car bomb
explosions at a vegetable market.
Three more people were killed by a
parked car bomb in Kerbala, 80 kilome-
ters southwest of Baghdad, the police
said.
Thousands of Sunni Muslims have
taken to the streets since late December
to protest what they see as the margin-
alization of their sect since the fall of
SaddamHussein and the empowerment
of Iraq’s Shiitemajority through the bal-
lot box.
The demonstrations in the Sunni
heartland of Anbar are also compound-
ing fears that war in neighboring Syria,
where Sunni rebels are fighting to
topple a leader backed by Shiite Iran,
could further upset Iraq’s own delicate
sectarian and ethnic balance.
No group claimed responsibility for
the attacks on Friday.
On Monday, a suicide bomber at-
tacked a government-backed militia in
Taji, killing at least 22 people — the sev-
enth of eight suicide bombings in Iraq
during the past month alone.
ABIR SUTAN/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY
Meir Harush, a Beitar Jerusalem board member, sifting rubble at the soccer team’s offices.
The police suspect that a fire there was linked to the recruitment of two Muslim players.
Israeli leader denounces
flare-up of soc
cer racism
ing to the police, destroying the team’s
trophies, commemorative jerseys of
former stars, championship flags, photo-
graphs and books. ‘‘All the history of
Beitar Jerusalem,’’ said the team
spokesman, Asaf Shaked. ‘‘It’s not dam-
age by money; it’s damage by emotion.’’
The mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat,
also condemned the violence Friday,
likening the perpetrators to the Mafia.
Limor Livnat, Israel’s minister of cul-
ture and sport, said she would attend
Sunday’s game to show support for the
team’s management.
MickyRosenfeld, a police spokesman,
said that a special investigative team
was looking into the arson, which he
said ‘‘gushed through the offices,’’ and
that the police would not only send hun-
dreds of extra officers to the Sunday
game, but seek to arrest troublemakers
beforehand.
Eli Abarbanel, a senior state prosecu-
tor and Beitar fan, said on Israel Radio
on Friday that the soccer struggle re-
flected ‘‘a broad phenomenon of racism
in all of Israeli society,’’ citing expres-
sions of ‘‘joy’’ on social media after a re-
cent bus accident that killed 20 Palestin-
ian children.
Itzik Kornfein, Beitar’s manager, also
said that the dispute had ‘‘gone beyond
sports’’ and had ‘‘ramifications for Is-
raeli society and for how we look to the
world.’’ Speaking to Israel Radio, Mr.
Kornfein vowed not to back down from
his decision to integrate the team.
Mr. Shaked, the Beitar spokesman,
said management would ‘‘continue to
fight against this part of the fans’’ and
‘‘continue to hug the two players’’ in or-
der ‘‘to show all the world’’ that the club
is not defined by the slogans shouted
from the stands.
JERUSALEM
BY JODI RUDOREN
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of
Israel condemned as ‘‘shameful’’ the re-
cent protests by soccer fans here of
their team’s recent recruitment of two
Muslim players, hours after the offices
of the teamwere burned in what the po-
lice suspect was an arson attack by
some of those fans.
‘‘We cannot accept such racist beha-
vior,’’ Mr. Netanyahu said. ‘‘The Jewish
people, who suffered excommunica-
tions and expulsions, need to represent
a light unto the nations.’’
The team, Beitar Jerusalem, has long
been linked to Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud
Party, and for 15 years has been notori-
ous for racism and violence, including
an episode last spring in which fans
stormed a local mall chanting ‘‘Death to
Arabs’’ and beat up several Arab em-
ployees. Founded in 1936, it is the only
one of Israel’s professional soccer
teams never to have recruited an Arab
player.
The current controversy concerns the
team’s addition of two Muslim players
from Chechnya. Although one is injured,
the other is expected to play for the first
time in amatch on Sunday against a team
from Sakhnin, an Arab-Israeli town.
In anticipation of the Muslim players’
arrival, some fans unfurled a banner at
the team’s Jan. 26 game saying ‘‘Beitar
Pure Forever.’’ Some critics said the
banner was reminiscent of Nazi Ger-
many’s expulsion of Jews from sport,
and it led to nationwide soul-searching.
Four fans were indicted Thursday on
incitement charges. Beitar headquarters
were set on fire at 5 a.m. Friday, accord-
Safeguarding marine World Heritage
TheFrenchlmmakerandactorJacquesPerrinandtheBritishactorCliveOwenwere
speakersataneventinParisonFeb.7inwhichtheWorldHeritagemarineprogram
launcheda10-yearstrategytoprotectexceptionallyvaluablemarineenvironments.In
theafternoon,representativesofUnescomemberstatesmetattheorganization’sParis
headquarters,andintheeveningprivate-sectorrepresentativeswerereceivedatthe
ParisboutiqueoftheSwisswatchmakerJaeger-LeCoultre.Supportingthemarinepro-
gramarethegovernmentofFlanders(Belgium)andtheprogram’spartnersintheTides
ofTimecampaign,Jaeger-LeCoultreandtheInternationalHeraldTribune.
Fromlefttoright:the
actorCliveOwen;Jérôme
Lambert,chiefexecutive
ofJaeger-LeCoultre;Irina
Bokova,directorgeneral
ofUnesco;thelmmaker
JacquesPerrin;Stephen
Dunbar-Johnson,publisher
oftheInternationalHerald
Tribune;andNicVander-
marliere,representativeof
theFlemishgovernmentin
FrancetoUnesco.
TheWorldHeritagemarineprogramisseekingadditionalpartnersfromtheprivate
andpublicsectors.Forinformationonhowtosupportthisimportanteffort,contactthe
WorldHeritagemarineprogram:
FannyDouvere,coordinatoroftheprogram,F.Douvere@unesco.org
Website:whc.unesco.org/en/marine-programme
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