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DAVOS, Switzerland: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan flew home to a hero’s welcome on Friday after walking off the stage following an angry exchange over the Gaza war with the Israeli president, Shimon Peres, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The episode Thursday had all the overtones of a diplomatic incident, ruffling relations between Israel and a Muslim ally that is playing a key role in Middle East peace efforts. for more click here

Forget the economic slump. The only real problem with Britain today is that people like you don’t understand what’s going on. At least, that’s the theory in some parts of the Labour party, it seems.

The Independent reported this week it had been told by a “senior ally” of Gordon Brown that the Prime Minister “needs to use simpler language to explain the measures we are taking.” Apparently phrases like ‘global recession’ are “too much jargon” for the electorate to grasp.

Instead, according to the source, Mr Brown “needs to say – ‘We’re facing problems. The whole world is facing problems. But we’re helping to sort it out.’ The average man is not going to understand our message if it contains too much economics”.

Now we suspect that the average man has a pretty good idea of what’s going on – the slump in Mr Brown’s popularity demonstrates that only too well.

But just in case you were still unclear, let’s take a closer look at just how much trouble we’re in…
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Without strong leadership or the political capital to oppose a popular president, the fractured GOP can’t agree on options for the economic stimulus package. for more click here

More than 60,000 people in Zimbabwe have now been infected by cholera, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. for more click here

World leaders must have the “confidence to act” to tackle the global recession, Gordon Brown has said. for more click here

Strikes have been breaking out across the UK in support of a mass walkout by energy workers in Lincolnshire angry at the use of foreign workers. for more click here

A MURDERING Al Qaeda terrorist has sparked outrage after threatening legal action under the Human Rights Act unless women prison wardens in his presence wear veils. for more click here

CIVIL servants saw their lavish pension pots swell by a massive £4.5billion last year, shock Whitehall figures disclosed yesterday.for more click here

January has once again seen the UK’s annual Holocaust Memorial Day, and Labour MP for Edinburgh North & Leith, Mark Lazarowicz, has given his backing to the event by signing the Book of Commitment for Holocaust Memorial Day at Parliament in Westminster.

Mark said: “This year’s theme for Holocaust Memorial Day is ‘Stand up to hatred’ and it is sadly as relevant as ever. There are still groups which try to deny that the Holocaust happened and spread hatred against other religious and ethnic groups. We must do all we can to ensure that anti-semitism and prejudice do not flourish”. Economic slow-downs often benefit right-wing extremism and with the far right once again trying to win the election of a British MEP in the European elections in June, Mark stressed the need to counter their ideas at every opportunity.

Mark also applauded the efforts of the Holocaust Memorial Trust to increase awareness and understanding of the Holocaust. The Trust provides educational resources and training for teachers, and arranges for Holocaust survivors to speak in schools. It also runs a Government funded programme of educational visits to Auschwitz.

Mark added: “I have visited Auschwitz itself. To see for yourself the evidence of the mass murder that took place there is an experience which I will remember for ever, but which also encouraged me to recommit myself to the campaign against anti-semitism and prejudice in all its forms.”

Each generation needs to rediscover for itself the terrible truth of what occurred. The recent adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank on TV, for instance, attracted over 4.5 million viewers showing clearly the continuing public desire for knowledge about the Holocaust.

However, inevitably an early evening television series cannot convey anything like the full horror of what happened. Millions of people like Anne were subjected to the most unimaginable cruelty simply because they were Jewish, Roma, gay, disabled, Jehovah’s Witnesses or political opponents. As the number of survivors diminishes it is vital that their suffering is not forgotten and that we stand up to hatred in our own day.

ENDS

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NOTES TO EDITORS:

For comment or further information contact the Parliamentary Office of Mark Lazarowicz MP, 0207 219 8222.

The prospect of a trade war between the US and Europe is looming after “Buy American” provisions were added to President Barack Obama’s $820 billion (£573 billion) stimulus package. for more click here