LE POINT: Nicolas Sarkozy recevra, lundi à 18 heures, à l'Élysée le président égyptien Hosni Moubarak pour un entretien consacré notamment aux relations entre leurs deux pays et le processus de paix au Proche-Orient, a annoncé la présidence de la République. Les deux chefs d'État se sont vus il y a un mois à Nice, où ils ont coprésidé le 25e sommet Afrique-France. >>> AFP | Lundi 05 Juillet 2010
Monday, July 05, 2010
LE POINT: Nicolas Sarkozy recevra, lundi à 18 heures, à l'Élysée le président égyptien Hosni Moubarak pour un entretien consacré notamment aux relations entre leurs deux pays et le processus de paix au Proche-Orient, a annoncé la présidence de la République. Les deux chefs d'État se sont vus il y a un mois à Nice, où ils ont coprésidé le 25e sommet Afrique-France. >>> AFP | Lundi 05 Juillet 2010
PARIS MATCH: Ce lundi, deux marques de cigarettes et une de tabac à rouler ont baissé leurs prix. Une initiative vivement critiquée par la ministre de la Santé Roselyne Bachelot et par les associations de lutte anti-tabagisme.
Pour Roselyne Bachelot, c’est un «mauvais coup porté à la santé publique de nos concitoyens.» Lundi matin, deux marques de cigarettes et une de tabac à rouler ont vu leurs prix diminuer, de 20 à 25 centimes d’euros. Cette baisse va totalement à l’encontre des campagnes régulières d’augmentation des prix des cigarettes, visant à réduire la consommation de tabac des Français. En novembre dernier, les fumeurs ont commencé à payer leurs cigarettes 6% de plus qu’avant. Aujourd’hui, les paquets de Lucky Strike et de Rothmans vont passer de 5,30 euros à 5,10 euros, tandis que les paquets de tabac à rouler Drum passent de 7 euros à 6,65 euros. La ministre de la Santé Roselyne Bachelot, interviewée par RTL dimanche, s’est dite «absolument scandalisée» par la décision du fabricant British American Tobacco. La ministre n’a pas manqué de rappeler que le tabac était responsable de 60 000 morts par an, dont plus de la moitié due aux cancers des voies aériennes. >>> Célia Brochet, Parismatch.com | Lundi 05 Juillet 2010
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LE TEMPS: A la veille de la visite de Benjamin Netanyahou à Washington, Ankara ferme son espace aérien aux vols militaires israéliens et exige des excuses pour le raid meurtrier contre une flottille d’aide pour Gaza, sous peine de rompre ses relations diplomatiques. Israël a déjà refusé
Ce durcissement d’Ankara a été exprimé par le chef de la diplomatie, Ahmet Davutoglu, cité par la presse, et ce malgré une rencontre secrète la semaine dernière entre lui et un ministre israélien qui laissait présager un léger réchauffement entre les deux pays, liés par un partenariat stratégique.
Jusqu’à présent, les Turcs n’avaient pas évoqué l’éventualité d’une rupture diplomatique même si les relations bilatérales, jadis qualifiées d’exemplaires, ont été sérieusement endommagées après le raid, le 31 mai, dans les eaux internationales, d’un convoi maritime humanitaire à destination de Gaza qui avait fait neuf morts turcs.
La Turquie a rappelé son ambassadeur et annulé des exercices militaires avec Israël.
M. Davutoglu, qui s’exprimait devant des journalistes dans l’avion le ramenant d’un voyage au Kirghizstan, a exhorté Israël à s’excuser ou à accepter les conclusions d’une commission d’enquête internationale. Sinon, a-t-il averti, «les relations seront rompues». >>> AFP | Lundi 05 Juillet 2010
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SKY NEWS: Fireworks bursted into the night sky above Washington, D.C. on Sunday (July 4) as thousands gathered to celebrate U.S. Independence Day.
Related here
SKY NEWS: The bulk of Islamism-related terror offences in the UK over the past decade involved British citizens with links to al Qaeda, according to a new report.
The Centre for Social Cohesion found that 69% of such incidents between 1999 and 2009 were carried out by home grown terrorists or would-be terrorists.
The research also suggested that seven of the UK's eight major bomb plot cells contained individuals with direct links to al Qaeda.
Only the failed London bombers of July 21, 2005, lacked undisputed evidence of direct contact with any proscribed organisation.
Some 48% of the 127 Islamism-related terror offences or suicide attacks were committed by individuals living in London, the report found. >>> David Crabtree, Midlands correspondent | Monday, July 05, 2010
THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: The recordings that expose the murky world of France's super-rich L'Oréal heiress could have come from the pen of Molière.
The following story could have been written by the 17th-century French playwright Molière. It is the tragi-comic tale of a deaf and confused 87-year-old heiress, surrounded by quarrelling and mutually detesting advisers and favourites who may or may not also be predators. The play could be entitled The Bewildered Billionairess. It's set not in the 17th century, however, but in the very recent past – between 25 May 2009 and 11 May 2010, to be precise.
The location is a mansion in Neuilly-sur-Seine, the wealthiest town in France, just outside Paris. The dialogue could equally come from a film script about the hidden world of greed/sliminess/snobbishness/ hypocrisy/anti-Semitism that sometimes lies below the fine old carpet of the Roman Catholic haute-bourgeoisie in France.
The extracts are, in fact, taken from the transcripts of real conversations secretly recorded by the old woman's former butler. The 100 hours of tapes have created a political scandal in France. They threaten to bring down a senior cabinet minister, Eric Woerth, and could deal a fatal blow to President Nicolas Sarkozy's already limping presidency. The tapes may become the principal exhibit in an explosive trial – which opened last week and then adjourned – and could also decide the future of the world's largest cosmetics company, L'Oréal. Continue reading and comment >>> John Lichfield | Sunday, July 04, 2010
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SUEDDEUTSCHE: Vom Vorsitzenden der CSU-nahen Schülerunion zum ÖDP-Politiker und obersten Verfechter des Nichtraucher-schutzes: Doch nicht alles im Leben hat Sebastian Frankenberger so konsequent verfolgt, wie den Kampf gegen die Kippe - den er nun in Bayern eindrucksvoll gewonnen hat.
Gebannt starrt Sebastian Frankenberger auf die große Leinwand im Münchner Traditionsgasthof Stemmerhof, wo jede Minute das vorläufige Endergebnis des Volksentscheids über ein verschärftes Rauchverbot erscheinen soll. "Es ist ein wunderbares Gefühl", wiederholt er wie ein Mantra, nachdem die eingehenden Meldungen ihm den klaren Sieg vorhersagen. "Dann plötzlich ruft er mit sich überschlagender Stimme: "Wir haben gewonnen."
Im Saal bricht frenetischer Jubel aus, und Frankenberger macht für die vielen Kameras das Victory-Zeichen. Anschließend sagt er: "Beim Volksbegehren konnten wir aus den laufenden Prognosen bereits herauslesen, dass wir es schaffen - aber diesmal wusste ich selbst nicht, wie es ausgeht." >>> Von Dietrich Mittler | Montag, 05. Juli 2010
WELT ONLINE: Bayern hat jetzt das schärfste Rauchverbot Deutschlands. Die Initiatoren des Volksentscheids wollen die Regelung jetzt bundesweit durchsetzen.
Nach dem Volksentscheid für ein striktes Rauchverbot in der bayerischen Gastronomie haben die Initiatoren die Bundesregierung aufgefordert, für ein bundesweites Rauchverbot zu sorgen. „Das Volk hat in Bayern so eindeutig gesprochen mit 61 Prozent, dass es auch deutschlandweit so sprechen würde“, sagte der Sprecher des Aktionsbündnisses Nichtraucherschutz, Sebastian Frankenberger, am Montag in München.
Er hoffe deshalb auf die Bundespolitik – diese könne den Nichtraucherschutz „sehr einfach“ über den Arbeitsschutz regeln und damit auch in anderen Bundesländern für ein ausnahmsloses Rauchverbot in der Gastronomie sorgen. Weiter lessen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> dpa/jm | Montag, 05. Juli 2010
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: ALLEMAGNE | Les électeurs bavarois, appelés dimanche aux urnes, se sont prononcés en faveur d'une interdiction stricte de fumer dans tous les lieux publics, selon les résultats officiels définitifs.
Après le décompte des votes dans les 96 circonscriptions de Bavière, le camp d'une interdiction de fumer dans les lieux publics a obtenu 61% des voix pour une participation toutefois faible (37,7%). >>> ATS | Lundi 05 Juillet 2010
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MAIL ONLINE: The cancer expert who predicted the Lockerbie bomber would die within three months of his release from prison has admitted he could live for another ten years or more.
Professor Karol Sikora, who had diagnosed Abdelbaset Al Megrahi with terminal cancer, faced calls to apologise to victims' families last night.
Campaigners reacted with fury to the professor's comments, which they said raised new questions about the decision to allow Megrahi to return to his native Libya.
Tory MP Ben Wallace, a former member of the Scottish Affairs Committee, said: 'The doctor that carried out this diagnosis owes his regret to the families of the victims.
'He should apologise to the victims for contributing to the release of a mass murderer, who is clearly alive and well in Libya.
'Throughout this whole sorry affair the victim has been put last behind trade deals, Scotish Nationalist posturing and dubious medical diagnosis.' >>> Jack Doyle | Monday, July 05, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Israel will never say sorry for defending itself, a senior government official has said after Turkey demanded an apology for a deadly commando raid on an aid convoy to Gaza.
His remarks were made after Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish Foreign Minister, vowed Ankara would sever diplomatic ties with Israel unless it apologised over the operation which left nine people dead, all of them Turkish nationals.
Israeli officials reacted angrily to Turkey's threats.
"When you want want an apology, you don't use threats or ultimatums," said Yigal Palmor, foreign ministry spokesman.
"Everything leads us to believe that Turkey has another agenda in mind," he said, without giving further details.
"Israel will never apologise for defending its citizens," he said. >>> | Monday, July 05, 2010
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The identical twin of the Polish president killed in an April plane crash has accepted that his bid to succeed his brother as president has ended in failure after exit polls showed he had lost Poland's presidential elections.
Addressing supporters at his campaign headquarters, Jaroslaw Kaczynski congratulated Bronislaw Komorowski, a pro-business and liberal ally of the Polish government, after two exit polls gave his rival 53.1 and 51 per cent.
"I congratulate the winner. I congratulate Bronislaw Komorowski," said Mr Kaczynski, adding that "there will be other elections to fight" and that "we have to mobilise" for them.
A jubilant Mr Komorowski appeared confident that the results, due on Monday, will confirm him as president of Poland."This is a victory for Polish democracy," Mr Komorowski told cheering supporters at his headquarters. "The ballots are being counted. We're opening a small bottle of champagne today, and we'll open a big one tomorrow." >>> Matthew Day in Warsaw | Sunday, July 04, 2010
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Komorowski Wins Polish Presidency: WARSAW—The candidate of Poland's business-friendly ruling party, which wants to shrink the state's role in the economy and deepen ties with the rest of the European Union, won Sunday's presidential election, defeating a rival with a more traditionalist agenda. >>> Gordon Fairclough and Marcin Sobczyk | Monday, July 05, 2010
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THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Italy is considering banning drivers over 80 years old from the roads in a bid to reduce accidents.
The proposal is based on the suggestion that octogenarians are less alert and more easily distracted than younger motorists.
Italy has one of the highest amount of road deaths per year in Europe with more than 5000 registered in 2009.
”We must look at setting an age limit for driving - once it is passed then a licence would be taken away,” said Mario Valducci, chairman of the Italian Parliament Transport Committee. ”It is still at the proposal stage and it would be either around 80 or 85 years old but it is something that is being seriously considered.”
Under current legislation in Italy driving licences must be renewed every ten years until 50, then every five years until 70 and then every three years.
Drivers have to provide medical certificates to verify they are in a good state of health but there is no full practical test to check their reactions. >>> Nick Pisa in Rome | Sunday, July 04, 2010
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THE TELEGRAPH: With its stars being picked off by rival broadcasters and looming cuts to pay and pensions, the mood at the BBC is said to be 'sulphurous'. Neil Midgley looks at the tensions pulling it apart.
Saturday July 17 will see the end of an era at the BBC – and one that the corporation will be glad to forget. Just before 1pm, Jonathan Ross will hang up his Radio 2 headphones for good – his three-year, £18 million deal finally at an end. Ross became a totem of almost everything the BBC's critics say is wrong with it: his massive pay packet, his foul-mouthed style and, fatally, his infamous harassment, with Russell Brand, of the actor Andrew Sachs on Brand's Radio 2 show. His exit should be the opportunity for a golden new dawn at Television Centre in White City: with the page turned and lessons learned, the BBC could and should be ready to show itself not only leaner and meaner, but with higher editorial standards and a greater commitment to the public service broadcasting ideals for which it was founded in the days of John Reith.
Yet when Sir Michael Lyons, the chairman of the BBC Trust, stood up to give an agenda-setting speech at the Voice of the Listener and Viewer consumer group last week, he did not give a confident performance. Though he gathered headlines in the following day's papers with his demand for the BBC's top-earning on-screen stars to be publicly listed, he had in fact dithered over the text of the speech almost until he delivered it. He even added a crucial caveat – that individual presenters' salaries need not be disclosed – while he was on his feet. Often stumbling over his words, he looked and sounded weary and unsure.
Today, Sir Michael will be on his feet again, next to director-general Mark Thompson at the presentation of the BBC's annual report. One Tory MP recently described the pair – with some frustration, given Sir Michael's role as regulator of Thompson's output – as being "like Romulus and Remus, they appear everywhere as a double act". But tensions between those who run the BBC, led by Thompson, and the supervisory Trust, led by Sir Michael, have never been higher. According to one senior source, the executive and the trust are now in "almost open warfare", with the trust's most recent demands about "talent pay" disclosure only hardening the resentment felt at Television Centre towards the trust. The source added that if Sir Michael had gone further and asked for presenters' actual salaries to be disclosed, the pair might have publicly fallen out there and then. Thompson has since ruled out publishing the salary details of the BBC's stars. >>> Neil Midgley | Monday, July 05, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: The 'face' of Jesus Christ has been 'seen' in an image picked up by Google Earth.
The resemblance was found by a 26-year-old man as he used the mapping website to look for holiday destinations.
Zach Evans, from Southampton, spotted the outline in satellite pictures of a field on farmland near Puspokladany in Hungary. >>> | Monday, July 05, 2010
THE SUN: On Google Earth as it is in Heaven >>> Vince Soodin | Monday, July 05, 2010
Sunday, July 04, 2010
20 MINUTES.ch: Le pape Benoît XVI a demandé, dimanche à Sulmona (centre de l'Italie) d'aimer les prêtres malgré leurs «faiblesse», dans une référence implicite aux scandales de pédophilie qui secouent l'Eglise.
«Aimez votre évêque, aimez vos prêtres: malgré leurs faiblesses, ils sont une présence précieuse dans la vie», a dit Benoît XVI, rajoutant oralement le terme de «faiblesses» à son discours écrit.
Lors d'une rencontre avec quelque 200 jeunes, le pape a également dénoncé la société de consommation. «La culture de consommation actuelle tend à attacher l'homme au présent, à lui faire perdre le sens du passé, de l'histoire», a-t-il dit, affirmant que cela «prive» les hommes «de la capacité de se comprendre, de percevoir les problèmes et de construire le futur».
Il a aussi dénoncé «de fausses valeurs et des modèles illusoires qui sont proposés (aux jeunes) et promettent de remplir leur vie alors qu'ils la vident». >>> afp | Dimanche 04 Juillet 2010
THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: Global body launched: The fight against rape, female circumcision, child mortality and poor healthcare takes on a higher priority.
Some 65 years after it was founded, and after decades of reports on every species of sex discrimination and its wasteful effects, the United Nations has decided to set up a single, powerful body to promote equality for women around the world.
The General Assembly voted unanimously on Friday to launch a new agency called UN Women. It will begin its work in January, have a high-level leader, probably twice the $250m annual budget now allocated to gender issues, and will be tasked with challenging governments on women's plights and rights.
UN Women will press hard for women to have a more widespread and prominent role in politics, and also try to reduce some of the world's more glaring discriminations. These include lack of access to health and education, forced marriages, rape, female cicumcision, and trafficking. Diplomats at the Assembly greeted news of the new body with spontaneous applause as the decision was announced with a rap of its president's gavel. "This is truly a watershed day," said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "Member states have created a much stronger voice for women and for gender equality at the global level. It will now be much more difficult for the world to ignore the challenges facing women and girls or to fail to take the necessary action." >>> Nina Lakhani and David Randall | Sunday, July 04, 2010
L’EXPRESS.fr: Le duel entre Kaczynski et Komorowski s'annonce serré au deuxième tour de l'élection présidentielle. Résultats partiels lundi matin.
Les Polonais votent dimanche pour le deuxième tour de l'élection présidentielle opposant. Le duel s'annonce serré entre le candidat libéral Bronislaw Komorowski, 58 ans, et le conservateur Jaroslaw Kaczynski, 61 ans.
Les bureaux de vote ont ouvert ce dimanche 4 juillet à 6h. Le scrutin, dont le premier tour s'est déroulé le 20 juin, est organisé après la mort du président Lech Kaczynski dans un accident d'avion, le 10 avril en Russie.
Bronislaw Komorowski, président de la chambre basse du Parlement et proche allié du Premier ministre libéral et pro-européen Donald Tusk, a obtenu au premier tour 41,54% des voix et part légèrement favori, un dernier sondage le créditant de 51% des intentions de vote.
Chef incontesté de l'opposition conservatrice et président du parti nationaliste Droit et Justice (PiS), l'eurosceptique Jaroslaw Kaczynski, frère jumeau du président défunt, a obtenu le 20 juin 36,46% des voix et il est crédité de 44% des intentions de vote, selon le même sondage. Une autre étude lui donne en revanche la victoire. Continuez à lire et réagir à cet article >>> Par LEXPRESS.fr avec AFP | Dimanche 04 Juillet 2010
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Iran lodged a written complaint alleging that the CIA had abducted one of its nuclear scientists amidst an international mystery over the fate of the man.
Shahram Amiri disappeared in Saudi Arabia while on pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Medina.
Since then a series of videos have apparently shown Amiri make and retract claims he was drugged and flown to America against his will.
Tehran said it has evidence that he is being held against his will in the United States.
The country's foreign ministry yesterday said it had submitted its evidence to the Swiss embassy, which looks after American interests in the absence of diplomatic relations.
Neither Switzerland nor the United States has made any comment on the case.
Mr Amiri was a nuclear researcher at Tehran's Malek Ashtar University and also worked for the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation.
The Iranian government declared he had been kidnapped by the CIA with Saudi connivance. >>> Richard Spencer in Dubai | Sunday, July 04, 2010
THE CANADIAN PRESS: German state of Bavaria to hold referendum on smoking ban in pubs, beer tents: BERLIN — Germans in the southern state of Bavaria are voting on whether to completely ban smoking statewide, or to continue to allow exceptions for clubs, bars[,] cafes and beer tents. >>> The Associated Press (CP) | Sunday, July 04, 2010
NEW ZEALAND HERALD: Lebanon's Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, one of Shiite Islam's highest religious authorities, died last night at the age of 74, a medical source at a Beirut Hospital said.
Fadlallah had a wide following among Lebanese Shiites and was a supporter of Iran's Islamic Revolution.
He was the spiritual leader and mentor of the Shiite militant group Hizbollah in the first years after it was formed in 1982. [Source: NZ Herald] | Monday, July 05, 2010
NEW ZEALAND HERALD: Pregnant Muslim women who fast during Ramadan are likely to have smaller babies who will be more prone to learning disabilities in adulthood, according to new research.
Scientists in the United States also found that the women were 10 per cent less likely to give birth to a boy if they had fasted during Ramadan.
The trend was clearest if the fasting was done early in the women's pregnancy, and during the summer months, when long hours of daylight called for them to go longer without food. >>> Sarah Cassidy and Jerome Taylor | Friday, June 25, 2010
WHEN IS: Ramadan in 2010 will start on Wednesday, the 11th of August and will continue for 30 days until Thursday, the 9th of September.
Based on sightability in North America, in 2010 Ramadan will start in North America a day later - on Thursday, the 12th of August. >>>
ZEIT ONLINE: Europa entdeckt die Tugend des Sparens. Es sollte nicht auf die Rufe aus Amerika hören, mehr Geld auszugeben
In der Panik, die nach dem Crash von 2008 ausbrach, sangen sie alle mit einer Stimme, von Washington über Berlin bis Peking: »Wir fluten die Wirtschaft mit Geld und Nachfrage, koste es, was es wolle. Nie wieder Weltwirtschaftskrise wie in den Dreißigern!« Nach der griechischen Fast-Pleite und inmitten einer zögerlichen Erholung ist der Chor zerfallen. In Europa stehen die Sparer und Schuldenkiller; in Amerika will Obama die »Fehler der Vergangenheit« nicht wiederholen und bedrängt zumal die Deutschen, weiter zu fluten. Sein Chefideologe Paul Krugman, der Nobelpreisträger, hält ihnen gar den Unglückskanzler Heinrich Brüning (1930 bis 1932) vor, der mit seiner Geiz-ist-Heil-Politik den »Untergang der Weimarer Republik besiegelt« hätte.
Unsere Angela Brüning ist diesmal, anders als zu Beginn der Griechenkrise, mit ihrem 80-Milliarden-Sparprojekt nicht allein. Die Briten, als Defizit-Sünder fast so schlimm wie die Griechen, wollen bis 2016 gar 155 Milliarden Euro schaffen. Selbst Merkels Widersacher Sarkozy, dessen Land die Staatsgläubigkeit erfunden hat, will in drei Jahren 100 Milliarden Euro einsparen. Sind die Europäer klüger als die Amerikaner? Ja. Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> Von Josef Joffe | Freitag, 02. Juli 2010
leJDD.fr: En six mois, le président du Conseil, inexistant sur le devant de la scène, s’est pourtant imposé en coulisses
Mon nom est personne. S’il devait un jour écrire son autobiographie, Herman Van Rompuy pourrait choisir ce titre. Depuis six mois, l’ancien Premier ministre belge, 62 ans, est pourtant le président stable du Conseil européen, le visage de l’Europe post-Traité de Lisbonne. Mais, déjà en mal de notoriété lors de son entrée en fonctions le 1er janvier, il n’a pas fait grand-chose, depuis, pour se faire connaître des citoyens européens. Sur les photos de famille, il est souvent bien caché. Herman Van Rompuy, c’est "Mister Nobody", a résumé Helmut Schmidt, l’ancien chancelier allemand.
"Il n’existe pas sur la scène publique, il n’aime pas les medias, confirme la députée européenne UMP Françoise Grossetête. Mais, en acceptant ce poste, il a accepté d’être exposé. Il doit se faire violence et s’imposer." En réalité, au moins par deux fois, Herman Van Rompuy a fait parler de lui depuis sa nomination. La première, il s’en serait bien passé. En février, lors de son premier passage devant le Parlement européen, il se fait copieusement insulter par le très europhobe et peu délicat député britannique Nigel Farage. "Je ne veux pas être impoli, lui lance Farage, mais, vraiment, vous avez le charisme d’une serpillière humide et l’apparence d’un petit employé de banque." Van Rompuy en reste coi. Quelques semaines plus tard, le président réunit les journalistes à Bruxelles. Une annonce importante à faire? Non, il souhaite présenter son recueil de haïkus, ces très courts poèmes d’inspiration japonaise qui le passionnent. Son contrat: ne pas faire d’ombre à Merkel et Sarkozy >>> Antoine Malo (avec Hélène Kohl à Berlin), Le Journal du Dimanche | Dimanche 04 Juillet 2010
MAIL ON SUNDAY: David Cameron is ready to approve the biggest public-spending cuts in the history of the developed world in a dramatic bid to cut Britain’s soaring national debt.
He has ordered Cabinet Ministers to draw up ‘Doomsday’ savings of up to a staggering 40 per cent which could see vast parts of the public services shut down and tens of thousands of policemen, teachers, town hall workers and other civil servants lose their jobs.
The proposed cutbacks are even more extreme than emergency reductions used in other countries such as Canada and Ireland and are double the amount of the Geddes cuts imposed after the First World War when Britain faced bankruptcy from government debt and waste.
Mr Cameron’s shock initiative is a massive personal and political gamble.
There were gasps at a meeting of the Cabinet on Tuesday when Ministers were informed of the package.
It could provoke a wave of crippling strikes – and may well threaten Mr Cameron’s alliance with Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg. Many Lib Dem MPs, already unhappy with the VAT rise and cuts in benefits, are likely to rebel against the draconian new measures.
However, if it works, it could result in a second Election victory for the Prime Minister. Continue reading and comment >>> Simon Walters | Sunday, July 04, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Obama's action in trying to ease his friend Valerie Jarrett into his old Senate seat will fuel cynicism about politics, argues Toby Harnden.
In a year when Americans are arguably more cynical and disillusioned about politics than at any time since Watergate, the corruption trial of Rod Blagojevich is a sobering reminder of how its practitioners operate.
Although "Blago", the foul-mouthed bouffant buffoon, is the main attraction of the Chicago production, the former Illinois governor's reluctant co-star is Barack Obama. The President forms part of the proceedings each day even though the judge has spared him a personal experience.
Reports of the Blago trial cannot make comfortable reading for the White House for they provide what Mary Mitchell, the Chicago Sun-Times columnist, described as "an unfiltered look at how the sausage is made in Illinois"
Illinois, of course, is the state that gave us President Obama. It is where he cut his teeth as a community organiser and where he first began to ascend the greasy pole of politics by taking his seat in the state senate.
At issue in the Blago trial is whether the then governor was trying to sell the United States Senate seat that Obama ascended to in 2004 after his initial Republican opponent imploded.
Blago had the power to appoint a new Senator when the seat was vacated because of Obama's presidential election victory in November 2008. Clearly, he thought the seat was a valuable prize.
"I got this thing and it's f------ golden and I'm not just giving it up for f------ nothing," he said in a conversation recorded by a federal wiretap. Blago's instinct was that Obama – who he mockingly described as "this historic, f------ demi-god" – would be willing to pay to have his preferred choice be duly appointed.
That choice, the trial has confirmed, was Valerie Jarrett, who now rejoices in the title of senior White House adviser and Assistant to the President for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs. >>> | Saturday, July 03, 2010
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The French court case pitting the daughter of Liliane Bettencourt, the country's richest woman, against a photographer who received an £825m gift has fascinated the country.
It was the climax to an extraordinary week surrounding France's richest women. Liliane Bettencourt's compatriots had watched astounded as the evidence unfolded in the court case brought by her daughter against the photographer on whom she has showered almost €1bn (£825m).
They learned how the 87-year-old L'Oreal [sic] heiress was bugged by her butler with a tape recorder hidden among the bone china brought to her office; how she had not spoken to her estranged daughter, Francoise Meyers-Bettencourt, for years; and how Mrs Bettencourt had kept a Seychelles island and €80 million (£66 million) hidden from the tax man.
Francois-Marie Banier, 63, the society dandy and recipient of her largesse, is accused of taking advantage of the elderly dowager's frailty to persuade her to hand over a fortune - though far less than she had long ago bestowed on her daughter.
But among the accusations and pure theatre surrounding the one-day court hearing, now adjourned, came a genuine bombshell for the French government: the revelation that, amidst all her apparent tax evasion, it had granted her a €30 million (£25 million) tax rebate - despite not having examined her financial affairs for more than a decade.
And to cap it all, the rebate was allegedly signed off by a minister whose wife worked for the billionaire.
Employment minister Eric Woerth, whose wife helped manage Mrs Bettencourt's financial affairs, and who was budget minister at the time the rebate was paid, stood firm against calls for his resignation.
No, he had done nothing wrong, he responded. No, he had not signed the heiress's tax rebate. No, he would not resign. Mrs Bettencourt had been given the rebate under the "tax shield" introduced by President Nicolas Sarkozy that puts a 50 per cent ceiling on the taxes citizens pay on their income and combined assets. It was perfectly legal.
But critics of the close relationship between the French state and some of its wealthiest citizens questioned how the authorities could be so relaxed. >>> Kim Willsher in Paris | Sunday, July 04, 2010
VALEURS ACTUELLES: Les enregistrements clandestins effectués par son majordome, mais aussi son interrogatoire par la police en disent long sur l’influence déterminante exercée par son entourage.
Qui aurait pu imaginer que l’affaire Bettencourt, qui n’était au départ que le roman sinistre d’un abus de faiblesse de la mère dénoncé par sa fille, se transforme en une affaire d’État donnant lieu aux pires soupçons ? Soupçons d’intervention de l’Élysée dans le cours de la justice. Soupçons de mansuétude fiscale visant l’ancien ministre du Budget, Éric Woerth. Soupçons de conflit d’intérêts entre celui-ci et son épouse, salariée de la société de gestion de fortune de la propriétaire de L’Oréal et première contribuable de France.
Plus de deux ans après le début de cette affaire, Françoise Meyers, née Bettencourt, campe plus que jamais sur ses positions : oui, dit-elle, François-Marie Banier, le photographe écrivain, en recevant de Mme Bettencourt près de un milliard d’euros depuis 1997 sous forme de tableaux, d’assurance vie, etc., a profité de l’état de faiblesse de sa mère. >>> Gilles Gaetner | Jeudi 01 Juillet 2010
Related articles here and here
THE TELEGRAPH: An openly-homosexual cleric has been nominated to become a senior bishop, in a move that threatens to provoke a damaging split in the Church of England.
A confidential meeting, chaired by Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has approved Dr Jeffrey John, the Dean of St Albans, to be on the shortlist to be the next Bishop of Southwark.
He is understood to be the favoured candidate.
Dr John is a hugely divisive figure in the church after he was forced to stand down from becoming the Bishop of Reading in 2003 after it emerged he was in a homosexual, but celibate, relationship.
Promoting him to one of the most senior offices in the Church would trigger a civil war between liberals and conservatives and exacerbate existing divisions within the Anglican Communion. >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Saturday, July 03, 2010
Saturday, July 03, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Boris Johnson, the London Mayor, has backed calls for an end to the ban on same-sex marriages, a prominent gay rights campaigner claimed.
Peter Tatchell said Mr Johnson had told him the Conservatives should support gay marriage.
Same sex marriages are not performed or permitted in the UK but a system of civil partnership exists that allows two people of the same sex to be united with general consent.
The Mayor made his comments during the Pride London Parade - the annual celebration of gay rights, Mr Tatchell said.
The campaigner had attended the event carrying a banner which read "Dave and Sam Cameron can marry, gays can't.
"End the ban on gay marriage!" >>> Patrick Sawer | Saturday, July 03, 2010
DIE PRESSE: Der Kongress muss die 15 Millionen Dollar für den internationalen Erhaltungs-Fonds für Auschwitz noch freigeben. Außenministerin Clinton bezeichnete den Erhalt als "unverzichtbar".
Die USA wollen mit einem Millionenbetrag den Erhalt der Gedenkstätte des Konzentrations- und Vernichtungslagers Auschwitz-Birkenau unterstützen. US-Außenministerin Hillary Clinton kündigte am Samstag bei einem Besuch in der ehemaligen Fabrik des deutschen Industriellen Oskar Schindler in Krakau an, ihre Regierung werde nach der Freigabe durch den Kongress 15 Millionen Dollar (11,95 Mio. Euro) in einen internationalen Fonds für Auschwitz einzahlen. Der Erhalt der Gedenkstätte sei "unverzichtbar", um auch den nachfolgenden Generationen verständlich zu machen, dass in der Welt "niemals wieder ein solcher Ort des Hasses und der Verfolgung" entstehen dürfe, sagte Clinton. >>> Ag. | Samstag, 03. Juli 2010
HINDUSTAN TIMES: Hundreds of people Saturday joined protests across Pakistan against the suicide bombings of the Data Darbar shrine in Lahore, even as Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said militants were targeting cities to divert the people's attention from the war against terror.
Lahore remained in mourning for the second day for the terrorist attack on the shrine of Hazrat Ali Hajweri, considered the patron saint of the city. Forty-five people were killed and over 200 injured when two suicide bombers blew themselves at the shrine on Thursday.
At some places in Lahore, protests turned violent as demonstrators marched through the streets, burning tyres and forcing traders to close their businesses.
Police used batons to disperse them and arrested over a dozen protesters who were demanding that authorities should take action against extremist elements involved in the desecration of the shrine.
Protests were also organised in cities across Punjab, including Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Faisalabad and Multan, and at several places in southern Sindh province, including Karachi, Hyderabad and Larkana.
Life in many towns and cities were affected by strikes called by different organisations like the Sunni Tehrik and Jamaat Ahl-e-Sunnat. >>> Press Trust of India , Islamabad / Lahore | Saturday, July 03, 2010
GALA.fr: Meryl Streep, une dame de fer? L’actrice aux seize nominations aux Oscars devrait camper Margaret Thatcher sur grand écran, Premier ministre britannique de 1979 à 1990, personnage public à la fois admiré et détesté
À voir le succès que connaissent les biopics sur les politiciens depuis quelques années, on n’imaginait pas que personne n’incarne un jour sur grand écran Margaret Thatcher, femme politique britannique qui a marqué l’Histoire. >>> F.F. | Vendredi 02 Juillet 2010
Related article here
THE AUSTRALIAN: Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir eschews violence, but it has no problem with incendiary rhetoric about the demise of Western democracy
WITH his neat beard, wire-rimmed glasses and woollen suit coat over a checked sweater, Uthman Badar has the look of a youthful professor. But the words of the mild-mannered economics PhD student sipping hot chocolate at a Turkish cafe in western Sydney carry the zeal of a revolutionary.
"Democracy is a bankrupt and irrational idea" and "all indicators are pointing to the decline and inevitable collapse of Western ideology", Badar opines. In the meantime, those dedicated to justice and progress must struggle against "those who seek to live decadent lives off the sweat and blood of the vast majority of humanity".
Badar is spokesman for the Australian branch of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an international Islamist organisation dedicated to the creation of a transnational Islamic state governed purely by sharia law. In pursuit of that vision, he and an expected 1000 fellow HT members will gather in Sydney this weekend for an international conference to promote their cause.
As Badar knows, Australia's spy agency ASIO and counter-terrorism authorities will be keeping a close eye on the event. HT is banned in many countries and, while it has avoided being outlawed in Australia, the views it espouses are regarded by the authorities as dangerously extreme.
Badar insists Australians have nothing to fear, as HT is "avowedly nonviolent" and has no wish to make Australia part of its caliphate. "All we do is talk," he says.
A contrary view is this assessment from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute: "HT's platform forbids its members from acts of terror. There's no clear evidence of HT engaging in the preparation of terrorism. HT's incitement and encouragement of religious hatred may be enough, however, to convince Islamists to perpetrate terrorist acts."
ASIO will no doubt find plenty to listen to as HT members from Australia and abroad discuss subjects such as the Western push to ban the burka, the Australian government's role in "the war on Islam", and the campaign for a caliphate, described as "the obligation of the age". >>> Sally Neighbour, The Australian | Saturday, July 03, 2010
LE POINT: Ils ont entre 18 et 27 ans et vivent coupés du monde pendant dix semaines : huit jeunes hommes s'affrontent pour être sacrés le "meilleur imam" dans une émission de télé-réalité qui rencontre un grand succès en Malaisie. Le vainqueur d'"Imam Muda" ("Le jeune imam") sera récompensé par un pèlerinage, tous frais payés, à La Mecque, une bourse pour étudier dans une université saoudienne et un poste dans une mosquée importante de Malaisie.
Il lui faudra pour cela être le dernier en lice des épreuves éliminatoires qui testent leurs connaissances de l'islam. Les candidats, qui étaient dix au départ, ont ainsi dû réciter des versets du Coran, effectuer les ablutions sur deux morts et convaincre des jeunes de se détourner du sexe hors mariage et de la drogue.
L'émission "fera date car elle propose une approche rafraîchissante de l'islam", estime Azman Ujang, un expert des médias. L'ancien grand imam de la mosquée nationale de Kuala Lumpur, qui supervise l'émission, espère que les candidats vont jouer un "rôle modèle" pour "lutter contre la décadence sociale et morale qui affecte les musulmans". Flagellation pour adultère >>> AFP | Vendredi 02 Juillet 2010
VOA NEWS: Palestinian militants have rejected a new Israeli offer for a prisoner exchange.
The Islamic militant group Hamas has declined Israel's latest offer for a lopsided prisoner swap: 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the offer to mark the fourth anniversary of the soldier's captivity in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
But Mr. Netanyahu ruled out releasing dozens of top militants responsible for the deadliest terrorist attacks, describing them as "mass murderers." He said releasing such prisoners in the past led to new waves of terror.
Hamas responded that there will be no deal until Israel meet its demands and frees all the prisoners on the list. >>> | Friday, July 02, 2010
ADN KRONOS INTERNATIONAL: Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI has urged Iraq's authorities to give greater protection to Christians and other religious minorities. The pontiff reminded Iraq's new ambassador to the Holy See, Habib Mohammed Hadi Ali al-Sadr, that "since the earliest days of the Church, Christians have been present in the land of Abraham, a land which is part of the common patrimony of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.”
Iraq's new government needs to urgently implement measures designed to improve security for all sectors of the population but especially its various minorities, he said. >>> AKI | Friday, July 02, 2010
DAILY EXPRESS: THE Queen heads the most expensive Royal Family in Europe, a study revealed yesterday.
It found that British taxpayers have to pay more for their Royal Family than those in seven other leading constitutional monarchies, even though the Queen’s Civil List payment has been frozen for the past 20 years.
The findings, by a leading public finance expert, will come as a blow to the Queen as she prepares for the publication of the monarchy’s annual accounts on Monday. >>> Richard Palmer, Royal Correspondent | Saturday, July 03, 2010
THE CANADIAN PRESS: BEKASI, Indonesia — A banner with a picture of a young, bespectacled Christian man is draped in front of a mosque, a fiery noose around his neck and the words, "This man deserves the death penalty!"
Churches are shut down. And an Islamic youth militia holds its first day of training.
Though the events all occurred less than nine miles (15 kilometres) from Indonesia's bustling capital, making headlines in local papers and dominating chats on social networking sites such as Facebook, they've sparked little public debate in the halls of power.
"I really see this as a threat to democracy," said Arbi Sanit, a political analyst, noting leaders never like to say anything that can be perceived as "un-Islamic," because they depend heavily on the support of Muslim parties in parliament.
"Being popular is more important to them than punishing those who are clearly breaking the law," Sanit said.
Indonesia, a secular nation with more Muslims than any other in the world, has a long history of religious tolerance, though a small extremist fringe has become more vocal in recent years. Members of the Islamic Defenders Front, or FPI, have been known to smash bars, attack transvestites and go after minority sects with bamboo clubs and stones.
Now, they are targeting Christians in the fast-growing industrial city of Bekasi. >>> Niniek Karmini (CP) | Saturday, July 03, 2010
THE TIMES OF INDIA: NEW DELHI: India took a giant, albeit belated, step towards globalisation on Thursday when the Delhi high court delivered a historic judgement to amend a 149-year-old colonial-era law — Section 377 of the IPC — and decriminalise private consensual sex between adults of the same sex. It is the biggest victory yet for gays rights and a major milestone in the country's social evolution. India becomes the 127th country to take the guilt out of homosexuality. >>> Manoj Mitta & Smriti Singh, TNN | Saturday, July 03, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: An Australian Catholic priest has been jailed for almost 20 years for "sadistic" sex attacks on young boys that spanned more than 18 years.
John Sidney Denham, 67, was sentenced to 19 years and 10 months after pleading guilty to a range of charges, including multiple counts of indecent assault against boys aged five to 16.
Denham was found guilty of abusing 39 boys at schools in Sydney and elsewhere in New South Wales between 1968 and 1986.
In sentencing, judge Helen Syme said that the abuse had been ignored by school authorities for many years, allowing it to continue. >>> Bonnie Malkin in Sydney | Friday, July 02, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Bans on kissing while driving a car, feeding stray cats and building sandcastles are among a rash of new laws Italians say threaten to turn the country into the ultimate nanny state.
More than 150 "public security" laws have been introduced since Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister, granted extra powers to local councils to help them crack down on crime and anti-social behaviour.
In the latest episode in the fight to maintain "public decorum", Vigevano, a town near Milan, this week slapped fines of €160 (£130) each on a young couple who dared to sit on the steps of a local monument.
"It was really hot, so we just sat down for a moment," said Giada Carnevale, 24. "The only other alternative in the piazza is to go to a bar but there they charge you €5 just for a drink. We were just chatting – we weren't eating or drinking or smoking."
But the town's mayor justified the fine, saying the council spent precious time and money each month cleaning up after idlers on the steps.
Passionate Italians caught kissing in a moving car in the town of Eboli, south of Naples, face a €500 fine. >>> Nick Squires in Rome | Friday, July 02, 2010
LA STAMPA: I divieti del 2010: Le ordinanze più strane in vigore in Italia e punite con multe salate >>> Flavia Amabile | Venerdì 2 luglio, 2010
Friday, July 02, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Homosexual couples could be allowed to “marry” in traditional religious ceremonies for the first time, a government minister has said.
Lynne Featherstone, the equalities minister, said the Coalition was considering allowing same-sex couples to include key religious elements in civil partnership ceremonies.
In a parliamentary answer, she disclosed that homosexual couples could be permitted to use “religious readings, music and symbols”.
This would make civil partnerships practically indistinguishable from traditional weddings as Parliament recently removed the bar on same-sex unions in churches and other places of worship through an amendment to Labour’s Equality Act.
The proposals will delight equality campaigners who believe civil partnership is a “second-class” status, but they prompted fierce opposition from mainstream Christian leaders who believe marriage can only take place between a man and a woman. >>> Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Friday, June 02, 2010
THE WASHINGTON POST: If Bill Clinton was our first black president, as Toni Morrison once proclaimed, then Barack Obama may be our first woman president.
Phew. That was fun. Now, if you'll just keep those hatchets holstered and hear me out.
No, I'm not calling Obama a girlie president. But . . . he may be suffering a rhetorical-testosterone deficit when it comes to dealing with crises, with which he has been richly endowed.
It isn't that he isn't "cowboy" enough, as others have suggested. Aren't we done with that? It is that his approach is feminine in a normative sense. That is, we perceive and appraise him according to cultural expectations, and he's not exactly causing anxiety in Alpha-maledom.
We've come a long way gender-wise. Not so long ago, women would be censured for speaking or writing in public. But cultural expectations are stickier and sludgier than oil. Our enlightened human selves may want to eliminate gender norms, but our lizard brains have a different agenda.
Women, inarguably, still are punished for failing to adhere to gender norms by acting "too masculine" or "not feminine enough." In her fascinating study about "Hating Hillary," Karlyn Kohrs Campbell details the ways our former first lady was chastised for the sin of talking like a lawyer and, by extension, "like a man."
Could it be that Obama is suffering from the inverse?
When Morrison wrote in the New Yorker about Bill Clinton's "blackness," she cited the characteristics he shared with the African American community:
"Clinton displays almost every trope of blackness: single-parent household, born poor, working-class, saxophone-playing, McDonald's-and-junk-food-loving boy from Arkansas."
If we accept that premise, even if unseriously proffered, then we could say that Obama displays many tropes of femaleness. I say this in the nicest possible way. I don't think that doing things a woman's way is evidence of deficiency but, rather, suggests an evolutionary achievement.
Nevertheless, we still do have certain cultural expectations, especially related to leadership. When we ask questions about a politician's beliefs, family or hobbies, we're looking for familiarity, what we can cite as "normal" and therefore reassuring.
Generally speaking, men and women communicate differently. Women tend to be coalition builders rather than mavericks (with the occasional rogue exception). While men seek ways to measure themselves against others, for reasons requiring no elaboration, women form circles and talk it out.
Obama is a chatterbox who makes Alan Alda look like Genghis Khan. >>> Kathleen Parker | Wednesday, June 30, 2010
THE INDEPENDENT: Jerome Taylor witnesses a fusion of fashion with traditional Muslim dress
Perched on a stool in a cavernous warehouse in north London, a model with bright blue eye make-up carefully adjusts her top as a photographer works the light around her. She is dressed in a beautiful, sleek, black satin shirt, topped off with a simple, unadorned hood.
As the photographer lifts up his camera, the model brings the hood up to cover the back half of her head. “That’s it,” he says, as the flash fires. “Beautiful.”
Welcome to the world inhabited by the “Hijabistas”, a trendy set of up and coming Muslim fashion designers who are doing their bit to forge an indigenous British Islamic identity. Until relatively recently, young Muslim women who wanted to dress according to Islamic rules of modesty (hijab) had pretty limited options. They could either adopt the type of immigrant clothing worn by their parents, or try to cobble something together from high street chains, where modesty isn’t exactly seen as a best seller, especially in the summer.
Frustrated by this lack of variety, a small number of devout young Muslims are making their own way into the fashion industry to try and provide a middle road – sleek, elegant clothing that is both beautiful and Islamic.
The seeds of this particular sartorial movement have only just begun to be sown and the number of Hijabistas in Britain can probably be counted on one hand. But their arrival heralds a shift reflected in the wider Muslim demographic of a community making their way towards the mainstream and forging their own indigenous identity. >>> Jerome Taylor | Friday, July 02, 2010
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