Navigating a World in Flux: PM Lawrence Wong on Forging a Future for Singapore Amidst Global Tides

Singapore's new Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong, has articulated a clear-eyed vision for his nation's path forward, one that champions steadfast partnerships, strategic adaptation, and a deep-seated belief in the potential of his people. In a wide-ranging interview, the recently elected leader delved into the intricacies of Singapore's relationship with China, the challenges of a fragmenting global order, and the core values that will guide his "4G" leadership team in writing the next chapter of the Singapore story.

Just over a year since assuming the premiership and fresh from a general election that delivered a clear mandate, Prime Minister Wong is navigating a world he describes as being in a "messy and unpredictable transition." His first official visit to China as Prime Minister, coinciding with the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations, underscores the significance he places on this enduring partnership.¹

A Partnership "All-Round, High-Quality, and Future-Oriented"

The relationship between Singapore and China, elevated in 2023 to an "all-round, high-quality, future-oriented partnership," is a cornerstone of Singapore's foreign policy.² For Wong, this is more than just a diplomatic tagline; it's a reflection of a deep-seated mutual trust and respect that has been carefully cultivated by successive generations of leaders, from the founding fathers Lee Kuan Yew and Deng Xiaoping to the present day.³

"I hope to do the same in my visit with Chinese leaders, especially with President Xi and Premier Li," Wong stated, emphasizing the importance of personal rapport at the highest levels. This close relationship, he explained, sets the tone for a multifaceted collaboration overseen by the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), a body he once co-chaired.⁴ The ever-expanding agenda of the JCBC is a testament to the dynamism of the partnership, with ongoing and evolving projects in Suzhou, Tianjin, and Chongqing serving as platforms for wider cooperation.⁵

These initiatives are not static, Wong clarified. The Suzhou Industrial Park, now celebrating its 30th anniversary, is exploring new frontiers of collaboration, while the Tianjin Eco-City, which has transformed a barren wasteland into a model for green living, is embarking on a new chapter focused on sustainable growth.⁶ Beyond these established platforms, Singapore and China are actively exploring new avenues of cooperation in areas like the digital economy, green energy, and biomedical sciences.⁷

Wong's confidence in the future of China is palpable. "Never bet on the decline of China," he has stated, a conviction rooted in the nation's remarkable track record of economic transformation and the caliber of its leadership.⁸ Having interacted with Chinese officials at all levels over the years, he has been consistently impressed by their competence, deep understanding of challenges, and willingness to learn and adapt.⁹However, his greatest source of confidence, he revealed, lies in the "tremendous ingenuity and resourcefulness" of the Chinese people.

Championing Multilateralism in a Turbulent World

This optimism for bilateral relations is tempered by a sober assessment of the global landscape. At the upcoming Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, also known as the Summer Davos, Wong intends to deliver a strong message on the importance of upholding a rules-based multilateral order.¹⁰

"Without rules, without long-standing norms of cooperation, countries everywhere will be worse off," he asserted, highlighting the particular vulnerability of small states like Singapore.¹¹ However, he was quick to add that even large nations suffer in a fragmented and mistrustful world, which breeds uncertainty, slower growth, and higher inflation. The solution, he argued, is not to abandon the imperfect system of multilateralism but to "reform, change, improve, and make the system work better for the benefit of all countries."

This commitment to an open and rules-based global order is also reflected in Singapore's economic strategy. Acknowledging that the era of unfettered free trade may be over, a "seismic change" he attributes in part to the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, Wong remains resolute that trade will continue, albeit in different configurations.¹²

Singapore's response is multifaceted: deepening economic integration within ASEAN, strengthening partnerships with key Asian economies like China, India, Japan, and South Korea, and forging new trade links with countries in the EU, Latin America, and Africa.¹³ The city-state is also a strong proponent of regional trade agreements like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).¹⁴ A significant step in this direction is the recently concluded negotiations for the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (FTA) 3.0, an upgrade that Singapore fully supports and hopes to see signed later this year.¹⁵

The 4G Leadership: Continuity and a New Approach

At home, Prime Minister Wong leads a "4G" or fourth-generation leadership team that is committed to the core values that have long underpinned Singapore's success: incorruptibility, meritocracy, multiracialism, and self-reliance.¹⁶ While these foundational principles remain unchanged, Wong is also clear that his leadership style will be his own.

"Every leader has to be himself; you cannot pretend to be someone else," he said. His approach is one of openness, a willingness to listen to diverse viewpoints, and a desire to engage and involve as many people as possible in the nation-building process.¹⁷ "But at the end of the day," he affirmed, "the government must decide."

The narrative he and his team aspire to create is one of a "shining red dot," a small nation that continues to defy the odds and add value to the world. It's a vision of a Singapore where every citizen can aspire to a better life, a sentiment deeply informed by his own experiences, including his time as the Principal Private Secretary to then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He was, he recalled, always struck by Lee's "obsession" with keeping Singapore going, a feeling of vulnerability that comes with being a small nation. "Now that the leadership baton has been passed to me," Wong reflected, "this has become my obsession."

This sense of responsibility is leavened by a personal touch. Famously a guitar enthusiast, a passion sparked by a gift from his father some four decades ago, Wong sees music as a way to "break barriers" and "bring people together."¹⁸ It is also, he admits, a vital way to unwind from the immense pressures of his office.

As Prime Minister Lawrence Wong embarks on this new chapter, both for himself and for Singapore, his message is one of cautious optimism and unwavering resolve. In a world fraught with challenges, his leadership will be defined by a commitment to enduring partnerships, a pragmatic approach to global shifts, and an unshakeable belief in the ability of Singapore to not just survive, but to shine. 

Quran criticizes companions of Jesus, new study claims

A new study challenges the common view that the Quran depicts the companions of Jesus as faithful followers of his message. The study, published in the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, argues that the Quran actually criticizes the companions, known as al-hawariyyun, for deviating from Jesus’ teachings and becoming corrupted by Jewish and Christian influences.

According to Islamic tradition, the companions of Jesus in the Quran, the ḥawāriyyūn, were faithful disciples. The Quran means to present the ḥawāriyyūn as such and generally translates ḥawāriyyūn as “apostles” or “disciples”. In three different passages, the Quran refers to the companions of Jesus as al-ḥawāriyyūn. The ḥawāriyyūn declare their belief in Jesus and in his God. The Quran praises the ḥawāriyyūn for their belief in Jesus but reprimands them for abandoning his message. Christians are not condemned but rather exhorted to return to their prophet’s teaching. Gabriel Said Reynolds argues that while the Quran indeed means to signal the apostles of Christian tradition with the term ḥawāriyyūn, it does not consider the ḥawāriyyūn to have been faithful.

The author of the study, Gabriel Said Reynolds, a professor at the University of Notre Dame, analyzes the three Quranic passages that mention the hawariyyun and compares them with biblical and historical sources. He suggests that the Quran uses the term hawariyyun to signal the apostles of Christian tradition, but does not endorse their role as witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection or recipients of the Holy Spirit. Instead, the Quran exhorts them to return to the pure monotheism of Jesus and to acknowledge Muhammad as the final prophet.

Reynolds also explores the etymology of the term hawariyyun and its connection to the Ethiopic term hawarya, which means “apostle” in the Christian tradition. He argues that this connection does not imply that the Quran borrowed from Ethiopian Christianity, but rather that it engaged with a common Semitic vocabulary that was used to refer to religious leaders and communities.

The study offers a new perspective on the Quran’s relationship with Christianity and its understanding of Jesus and his companions. It also contributes to the ongoing debate on the origins and development of Islam in its historical context.

Why are Bob Woodward's WH sources - or Woodward himself - not on trial next to Bradley Manning? | Glenn Greenwald

Why are Bob Woodward's WH sources - or Woodward himself - not on trial next to Bradley Manning? | Glenn Greenwald:

'via Blog this'

Kazan

A wedding feast is in full swing in the imam’s office of Kazan’s Qolsharif mosque, a gleaming white, blue-domed landmark atop the city’s citadel. As my interpreter Olga Kassimova and I tuck into round duck pies, called belish, and achpochmak, triangles of pastry stuffed with chopped meat and potatoes, Rustem Zinnurov, the 34-year-old imam, spells out the Russian city’s well-deserved reputation for religious tolerance.

Migration Board firing of pro- Israel blogger 'violated constitution'

Published: 28 Sep 09 14:26 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/22340/20090928/
Iskandar Muda

Dictionary tool Double click on a word to get a translation

Sweden's Parliamentary Ombudsman (Justitieombudsmannen - JO) has rapped the Migration Board (Migrationsverket) over its controversial reassignment of Lennart Eriksson, an employee who had voiced pro-Israeli opinions on his personal blog.

* Migration Board pays off pro-Israel employee (29 Dec 08)
* Pro-Israel employee wins suit against Migration Board (12 Nov 08)
* Migration Board: 'Hamas is a liberation movement' (25 Oct 08)

The action taken against Eriksson constituted a violation of his freedom of speech – and freedom of opinion, according to the Ombudsman.

“The constitutional protection of freedom of speech means that, amongst other things, the public may not take action against any individual who has exercised their freedom of speech. There are no grounds for an exception in this case,” the Ombudsman wrote.

In 2007, Eriksson was reassigned following a decision by his new supervisor, Eugène Palmér, who objected to Eriksson's pro-Israeli opinions and vocal admiration for the US army general George S. Patton.

Palmér suggested that, given Patton's “broken loyalties to his superiors,” significant doubts had been raised as to Eriksson's trustworthiness.

In accordance with Palmér's decision, Eriksson was first reassigned, and later fired.

The Ombudsman has openly criticized Eriksson's boss, asserting that “there were no legally viable grounds for the course of action Eugène Palmér decided upon.”

Building upon the ombudsman's critique, Eriksson has also pointed the finger at the Director General for the Migration Board, Dan Eliasson.

“In light of the JO's decision, the government should now dismiss Dan Eliasson. No administrative authority should have a boss who allows for violations of the constitution,” Eriksson wrote on his blog.

The Mölndal District Court ruled in November of last year that Eriksson's demotion was invalid and that the Migration Board should pay damages in the amount of 100,000 kronor ($14,200).

TT/Charlotte Webb (news@thelocal.se)

Proposal for Muslim elementary school

Islam in Europe January 15 2009
By Esther

Oslo. As far as I can find out the School of Peace is a Russian-founded NGO, with a Muslim elementary school in Denmark. The "School of Peace" will start its own religious school in Oslo to prevent Muslim children from being turned into extremists aboard.

After Urtehagen closed in 2004 after intense internal conflicts there has been no Muslim elementary school in Norway. Now the School of Peace association is applying to manage a private school in Oslo which will be Muslim religious.

According to the organization's objects clause, the Peace of School is an alternative for parents who today send their children to Koran school aboard, out of a feeling of obligation towards Islamic upbringing. this puts the children at risk - again, according to the objects clause - of being trained in a radical of extreme interpretation of the Koran and losing the feeling of belonging to Norwegian society.

City councilor for schools and education Torger Ødegaard will recommend the application, if the school would fulfill the formal requirements.

"It's because we think that private schools are a positive supplement to the public school," says Ødegaard.

"The parents must weigh what is best for their children. We work very hard so that the public schools in Oslo will be the best possible. I think that the public school is as good at that it can compete with, and it can compete with and which is a wholly different school. But private schools which adapt to the kunnskapsløftet [the Norwegian educational reform] and to Norwegian law and whose education has the students reach the goals in the teaching plan, I'm in favor of," says Ødegaard.

School of Peace wants to have a grade 1-10 school with 200 students - according to the plans, the first 100 will start in the fall.

It's not clear according to the initiators where the school will be in Oslo. The Ministry of Education will have to approve the application.

SV (Socialists) leader in the Oslo council, Knut Even Lindsjørn, thinks that the authorities should reject a private Muslim elementary school in Oslo. He's against religious schools, though the SV approved such schools in the new private school law.

"I think it's unacceptable to set up more religious school in Oslo. It reinforces the split city and maintains a type of division between us and them. We now have a very good KRL class [ie, religion class] in the school that takes care of all religions. I am very involved in having the Oslo school be common for everybody and being an including and diverse school," says Lindsjørn.

Source: NRK (Norwegian)

Gaza aid arrives in Israel from Scandinavia

Israel has been harshly criticised for the humanitarian impact of its campaign against Hamas, being suffered by the general population of Gaza. Officials promised that a load of UNICEF relief supplies which arrived on board an Israeli cargo jet from Denmark would be distributed in in the Strip over the coming days. Israel’s minister in charge of aid for Gaza Isaac Hertzog said that he would do everything possible to help the people of Gaza “get over the crisis.”

International agencies said Israel’s three-hour break in fighting each day was “woefully insufficient” to distribute aid properly.

Palestinian health officials say more than a thousand people have been killed in the 20 day campaign. Relief workers say nine out of ten of the survivors are relying on handouts.

Iran, Sweden review humanitarian crisis in Gaza

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Safari held talks in Stockholm on Tuesday with his Swedish counterpart Frank Belfrage on the Gaza crisis and mutual ties. The Swedish State Secretary for foreign affairs said in the meeting that Tehran-Stockholm have great potentials for fostering bilateral ties.

Belfrage said that his country is concerned about war and aggression that caused killing of innocent civilians in the City of Gaza.

He hoped that ceasefire will be established in Gaza soon and the war-stricken people in Gaza would be provided with foodstuffs and medical care.

Referring to Iran's nuclear issue, the Swedish official acknowledged the Iranian nation's right to produce nuclear energy, hoping that the nuclear dispute will be solved by holding talks to remove ambiguities.

Safari said for his part that Iran and Sweden have widescale potentials to boost economic cooperation. He said that Iran is willing to develop ties with Sweden.

About Iran's nuclear program, Safari said that the western countries and US have adopted double-standard policy on the nuclear issue but Iranian nation insist on its rights to use peaceful nuclear energy.

Talking about the appalling atrocities in Gaza being committed by Israel, he said that the European countries' stand on closing eyes on violation of human rights in Gaza is inexcusable.

He called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and sending humanitarian aid to people there as well as withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area.

The two officials discussed the regional developments in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Caucasus.

Earlier, Iranian deputy foreign minister submitted Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's message on Gaza to Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt.

http://www5.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=303275&idLanguage=3

Gaza: Immediate & Final Cease-Fire!

by Yacov I. Claude
2009-01-13 09:49:35

What should we wait for? A thousand killed? We're almost there. Ten thousand wounded? Obama's speech on January 20th?

« The acts of Hamas cannot justify Israel's cruel war against Palestinian civilians » was the title of the Israeli daily Haaretz's editorial on January 10th.

Nothing can justify the murder of a child, the maiming of a defenceless being, the terror to which people are exposed, hostages of circumstances, caught between cross-fires, under uncontrollable storms of missiles and shells, as in this United-Nations school filled with refugees, where 45 persons were killed, more than 50 mangled, in the Jabaliya Camp.

On January 8th, French media director and essayist Jean Daniel, "sickened with indignation and revolt", denounced what he calls "a shameful regression" in the currently escalating military operation, "in the name of one conception of collective responsibility". "When you decide upon using means a thousand times superior to the enemy's, then you jeopardize your own ends." he warned.

We all want a safe world, a free world for our children. Who does not? In Ashkelon, Gaza, Beersheba, as in Beit Lahiya. Do they not deserve exactly the same rights, the same protection?

Throughout the world, from Jerusalem to Sakhnin, from Jakarta to Ankara, Berlin to Belfast, Oslo to Nairobi, Alexandria to Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Washington even… tension is rising, in a swelling wave of stupor and anger. What is left of "Annapolis"? What will be left of the Arab countries' offers of peace?

For months now, a dozen plus Nobel laureates and some thirty Members of the European Parliament have been campaigning for the opening of prison doors, the opening of the Gaza Strip, besieged for eighteen months. We urge you to join in this campaign, and all demonstrations, initiatives to stop the present madness in the "Holy Land". This Land is so much more than the land of "Israel" or "Palestine": it is the hinge between continents and civilizations.

For the sake of the fabric of Humankind, we cannot allow it to fall apart, and propagate its hell on Earth. Half of the people in Gaza are children, witnesses to the 2008-2009 massacres, stunted by the siege and malnutrition. Who has an interest in the explosion of ethnical conflicts? Who needs to fuel to the flames of anti-Semitic hatred?

More than 900 human beings have lost their lives since December 27, 2008; more than 4,000 remain horribly injured physically. "Let's stop the fighting, not only for three hours a day, but 24 hours a day," has been pleading the U.N. representative in Gaza, vainly. "Everyone here is terrorized and traumatized."

This 11th of January, eight Members of the European Parliament managed to reach Gaza through Egypt, among them five signatories of our Open the Doors Campaign. Beyond any political obedience, any identity reflex, let us unite against the logics of the worse, against the logics of terror, for sheer common sense and humanity!

"Those of us who love peace must organize as effectively as the war hawks." Martin Luther King

Open the Doors Campaign

Israel must end the Gaza blockade, end all killings, and enable Gaza to open to the world, so as to guarantee the possibility of a viable economy, and improve the humanitarian situation.

The Palestinians must end all rocket attacks against Israel and the Israelis.

Human beings are not bargaining chips.

Accordingly: the Palestinians must free Corporal Gilad Shalit, that they have held prisoner for two years now.

The Israelis, who hold more than ten thousand Palestinian prisoners in their jails, must urgently release a significant group of women prisoners, sick persons, the eldest and longest-serving among them, along with those held under administrative detention and other arbitrary procedures – including all the elected members of Palestinian legislature.

Supported by:

36 Members of European Parliament

John Bowis, Sharon Bowles, Chris Davies, Jill Evans, Jean Lambert, Caroline Lucas, Elizabeth Lynne, Claude Moraes, John Purvis, Diana Wallis (Vice-President of the European Parliament) (UK)
Kader Arif, Jean-Luc Bennahmias, Catherine Boursier, Jean-Marie Cavada, General Philippe Morillon, Béatrice Patrie, Michel Rocard (former Prime Minister) (France).
Giovanna Corda, Anne Van Lancker, Véronique de Keyser (Head of the Observers' Mission for Legislative Elections in Palestine & Vice-President of the Work Task on the Middle-East), Alain Hutchinson, Frieda Brepoels (Belgium)
Anna Hedh, Jens Holm, Eva-Britt Svensson (Sweden)
Edite Estrela, Ana Maria Gomes, Ilda Figueiredo (Portugal)
Luisa Morgantini (Vice-President of the EP), Umberto Guidoni (astronaut, Italy)
Marios Matsakis, Kyriacos Triantaphyllides (President, Delegation for Relations with the Palestinian Parliament, Cyprus)
Margrete Auken, Soren Sondergaard (Denmark)
Piia-Noora Kauppi (Finland)
Angelika Beer (Germany)

22 Nobel Laureates

Peace Nobel Laureates Bishop Carlos Belo, Mairead Maguire, Desmond Tutu, Betty Williams, Jody Williams
Medicine Nobel Laureates Arvid Carlsson, Roger Guillemin, Richard Roberts
Chemistry Nobel Laureates Elias Corey, Edmond Fischer, Dudley Herschbach, Roald Hoffmann, Sir Harold Kroto, Yuan T. Lee, Jens Skou,
Physics Nobel Laureates Alan Heeger, Jack Steinberger, Donald Glaser, Tony Leggett, Martinus Veltman
Literature Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka
Economics Nobel Laureate James Mirrlees

Authors: Noam Chomsky, David Grossman, Amos Oz

http://www.ovimagazine.com/art/3961

Finland tops Freedom House ranking

Freedom House, a Washington-based thinktank that receives the bulk of its funding from the US government, said in its annual Freedom in the World report on Tuesday that the Finnish public enjoyed the greatest degree of political freedom among the 193 countries and regions included in the survey.

North Korea languishes at the bottom of the Freedom in the World table.

/STT/

Norwegian ship attacked by pirates

The Norwegian ship "Viking Forcados" was attacked by pirates off the coast of Nigeria in the early hours of Tuesday morning, but the pirates failed in their attempt at capturing the vessel. No one was injured in the attack.

The pirates used speed boats, and a few men managed to enter the vessel, but the crew barricaded themselves in the superstructure, and after two hours the pirates left, after having fired a couple of shots through a porthole.

However, no one of the 52-men crew was harmed, and the ship was early Tuesday moving out into open waters.

"Viking Forcados" was engaged in repairing a pipeline for the company Exxon Mobil in Eastern Nigeria when the pirates attacked.

Eidesvik Offshore CEO Jan Fredrik Meling says to NRK that the security in the area has up to now been considered good, but that this will now have to be considered carefully if the ship is to continue its mission there.

(NRK)

Rolleiv Solholm

FinnChurchAid asks Israel to explain clinic strike

FinnChurchAid, the Finnish Evangelical-Lutheran Church's aid arm, said Monday it would ask Israel to explain why its air force had destroyed a clinic in Gaza on Saturday. FinnChurchAid also appealed to the Finnish government for support. Jouni Hemberg, the head of humanitarian aid at FinnChurchAid, said Israel appeared to be systematically targeting clinics in Gaza. "One cannot help thinking that what is going on is the destruction of infrastructure," he added. No one was hurt in the strike on the Al Shujaia clinic, partly funded by FinnChurchAid. STT Lehtikuva/Reuters – Gil Cohen Magen

More Norwegian aid to Gaza victims

The Norwegian Government has granted an additional NOK 20 million to organisations reaching the civilian population in Gaza, stating that humanitarian needs caused by the fighting there are acute. In total Norway has now granted NOK 50 million to emergency humanitarian aid since the fighting started in December. “We want to increase our aid to the population of Gaza, seriously hit by the fighting. The Government has therefore decided to grant an additional NOK 20 million to medicine, food and other emergency aid to the Palestinians. With these means the UN, the Red Cross family and Norwegian humanitarian organisations will be able to deliver critical help in Gaza”, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg says. Humanitarian organisations have encountered numerous obstacles in their efforts to reach the suffering in Gaza. “We strongly condemn the violence that aid workers and humanitarian transports are being met with in Gaza. International law states that the fighting parties have a clear responsibility to protect civilians and to facilitate humanitarian and medical aid. We have brought this up in the UN and with Israeli authorities”, Stoltenberg says. The UN Security Council has passed a resolution with cease-fire as a central element. The resolution lays out several steps towards a peaceful solution, also stressing the reconstruction role of the Norway-led donor country group AHLC. “What’s most important just now is to see an immediate end to the fighting, in order to avoid the further loss of lives and to reach the Palestinians with the assistance they sorely need”, Jens Stoltenberg says. (NRK/Press release) Rolleiv Solholm

Gaza conflict taken up in Finnish history classes

Veteran teacher Olli Rajaharju, 61, has a challenging task. He is teaching a lesson on the situation in the Middle East at the Porkkala upper secondary school in Kirkkonummi on Monday. Much information needs to be packed into the hour and a half.
Taking part in the historical review are six pupils who plan to write on history in the matriculation examinations in the spring.

But now let’s go to the present day. Israel has attacked Gaza.
“Why?” Rajaharju asks.
“Hamas has been firing rockets into Israel”, comes the answer.

Rajaharju goes through Israel’s goals: the firing of rockets needs to end, and the tunnels, through which weapons are smuggled from Egypt, need to be destroyed.
“Probably the aim is to inflict a powerful blow on Hamas.”

In addition, Rajaharju puts forward reasons why Israel chose this particular moment to attack. The government is trying to boost its support before the February elections, as polls have indicated that the opposition enjoys much support.
It appears that the tough measures really have enhanced support for the government coalition.

The reputation of the Israeli Defence Forces suffered a blow a couple of years ago when Israel attacked Hezbollah in Lebanon. Now Israel wants to upgrade its military reputation especially in the eyes of Iran, whose president Mahmud Ahmadinejad has threatened to destroy Israel.
If the new President of the United States starts negotiations to resolve the disputes between Israel and the Palestinians, Israel wants to be in as good a starting position as possible, Rajaharju explains.

Six pupils listen in silence, and give correct answers to the occasional questions that the teacher puts to them.

The core of the Palestinian question is the fact that the Palestinians and the Jews lay claim to the same land. The pupils learn that the root of the conflict can be seen to go back to the second millennium BC, when Semitic tribes moved, possibly from the area of Babylon, to the strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.

Under the Roman Empire, the Jews revolted. Rome punished them severely, and the Jews dispersed around the world.

Much later, the Jews began to return to the area. In the 1890s the Zionist movement emerged, setting as its aim the establishment of a Jewish state. Finally such a state emerged, when the United Nations decided in 1947 to divide Palestine between the Arabs and the Jews.

The Arab neighbours did not accept Israel, and a series of wars broke out. Israel expanded its territory, and Palestinians ended up settling in miserable camps in neighbouring countries. The Arab neighbours kept the refugees in the camps so that they would not integrate with the rest of the population. If that would have happened, their demands for a country of their own might have faded away.

Rajaharju goes through the disputes between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as action taken on behalf of peace, and, among other things, the role of the United States. There are so many impediments to peace, that it does not seem very likely, Rajaharju says.
“Big concessions would be needed on both sides.”

The pupils say that they follow Mideast events in the media. “The news brings on a hopeless feeling. No solution is in sight in the near future, and there are conflicts coming all the time”, says Max Talvinko.

The pupils say that they rarely discuss the events of the Middle East with their friends, but to some extent, they discuss it with their families.

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Gaza+conflict+taken+up+in+Finnish+history+classes/1135242694120

Sex and Sweden

Type the word ’Swedish’ into Google and do an images search.

What pictures will you get? Meatballs maybe? Ikea, of course - and also a lot of naked women.

For a long time now there’s been a popular image of Sweden as a land of free love, filled with followers of the shocking and sinful idea of sex without guilt. But how much truth is there behind the myth?

Listen to the report on Sweden and Sex (12:00)

Jumbo jet becomes hostel at Stockholm airport

Passengers arriving at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport will discover that one of the aeroplanes has missed a turn, parking itself atop a hill just outside the airport grounds. This is no mistake: just the latest innovative effort to create budget accommodation for those who wish to sleep near Stockholm’s airport.

Oscar Dios, an hotelier who also owns a hotel in nearby Uppsala, bought the Boeing 747 after its previous owner went bankrupt. Dios saw an excellent opportunity to create a unique hotel, inspired partly by similar projects using lighthouses and boats. “I got information about this aeroplane standing abandoned at Arlanda. I thought ‘why not try to convert it into a hostel? Since you’ve been converting boats and lighthouses and trains before into hostels’,” Dios told The Local newspaper.

The plan is wonderfully whacky, creating 25 rooms along either side of the 747’s aisle for guests looking for affordable lodging near Sweden’s pricey capital. The rooms may be small and minimally furnished, but they contain every essential amenity someone would need for a good night’s rest. Showers and bathrooms, however, are communal.

The hostel will also sport a small café and reception area. Eventually Dios wants to transform the cockpit into a bridal suite, and make the First Class seating area into a domed conference room. The first intrepid guests are due to check in on 15 January, when Stockholm’s newest hostel opens its hatch.

More anti-Israel protests in Reykjavik

Around 30 people are currently protesting outside the Icelandic parliament building. The protesters are angry that Iceland has not been outspoken in its criticism of Israel’s current military operations in the Gaza Strip, according to MBL.is.

The group is now outside parliament, but originally met this morning on the lawn of the Prime Minister’s office. Police are following the protesters, but have not yet done anything to intervene.

Some of the protesters are lying on the front steps of parliament, meaning police may see fit to move them should access to the building be significantly impeded.

Photo: MBL.is/Júlíus

'Boycott Israel in Davis Cup': Social Democrat

A prominent member of Sweden's largest political party likened Israel to apartheid South Africa and Nazi Germany in calling for a boycott of Sweden’s upcoming Davis Cup tennis match against the Middle Eastern country.

“Israel is an apartheid state. I think Gaza is comparable to the Warsaw ghetto,” said Ingalill Bjartén, the vice chair for the Social Democratic women’s organization (S-kvinnor) in Skåne in southern Sweden, to the Sydsvenskan newspaper.

“I’m surprised that Israel – where large numbers of the population suffered under the Nazis – can do the exact same things the Nazis did.”

The comments come as Bjartén and her counterparts from the Left Party have both called on Sweden to skip an upcoming Davis Cup tennis match against Israel, currently scheduled to take place in Malmö in early March.

The calls to boycott the Israel match have awakened memories of previous demonstrations in Sweden when its Davis Cup team was to meet Rhodesia in 1968.

At the time, Rhodesia was criticized for enforcing apartheid, and demonstrators from around the country descended on Båstad in southern Sweden to protest the match.

The match in Sweden was cancelled, but eventually played in France.

Social Democrats also tried to force the cancellation of a Davis Cup tennis match between Sweden and Chile held in Båstad in September 1975, two years after Augusto Pinochet staged a coup to take power in the Latin American country.

While the match went ahead, several thousand demonstrators gathered peacefully outside the stadium.

“If the match in Malmö goes ahead, I can guarantee that I’ll be there to demonstrate just as I would have in Båstad in 1968 and 1975 if I'd been alive then," Left Party foreign policy spokesperson and Riksdag member Hans Linde, who was born in 1979, told the paper,

“I’ve been to the West Bank and I don’t think Israel is a democracy worthy of the name. It’s a racist apartheid state,” said Linde, adding that his party wants to see an “athletic and cultural boycott of Israel”.

However, Sweden’s trade minister, Ewa Björling of the Moderate Party, rejected calls for a boycott against Israel.

“We’ve already seen that the isolation of Gaza doesn’t lead anywhere, so why should we do the same stupid thing against Israel?,” Björling wrote on her blog.

“On the contrary, I’m convinced that more trade for both Palestine and Israel is a good thing, while trade between the two is even better.”

According to the Swedish Tennis Association, canceling a Davis Cup match is far from simple, and would require action by the United Nations, the European Union, or the Swedish government.

The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)

Norwegians try to influence Iceland EU decision

The Centre Party of Norway and the Norwegian Socialist Left Movement have both sent representatives to Iceland to lobby against Iceland applying for European Union membership, according to the Aftenposten website.

The news site states that the Centre Party has sent two representatives, Aslaug Haga and Per Olaf Lundteigen, to discuss with members of the Icelandic Progressive Party and other Icelandic politicians, including Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde.

The Socialist Left Movement also intended to send two representatives to Iceland, Agot Valle and Dag Seierstad, but Valle quit the trip at the last minute due to illness, according to Aftenposten.

Apartment prices climb in Stockholm

Online: http://www.thelocal.se/16860/20090112/

Dictionary tool Double click on a word to get a translation

After a few turbulent months, apartment prices in central Stockholm finally crept back upwards in December.

Apartment prices nationwide remained largely unchanged since November, according to Mäklarstatistik, a cooperative project run jointly by estate agencies Fastighetsbyrån, Svensk Fastighetsförmedling and Mäklarsamfundet (Association of Real Estate Agents).

"Statistics from December show a fluctuating residential property market, particularly in the case of apartments, where prices are going up and down," said Fastihetsbyrån's CEO Per Johnler in a statement.

"On the one hand, we have seen an increased willingness to buy in the wake of interest rate cuts. On the other hand, concerns remain about the financial crisis and jobs," he added.

In central Stockholm, apartment prices in December were up one percent on the previous month. The greater Gothenburg and Malmö regions also saw a turnaround in fortunes for apartment sales, with prices up 3 percent and 2 percent respectively, though apartments in the central parts of both cities fared much worse than outlying areas.

House prices meanwhile were down 2 percent nationwide on November rates.

In all, apartments shed 10 percent of their value in Sweden in 2008, while the price of houses dropped by 5 percent.