Saturday, May 28, 2011
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Those in positions of power have sex with the secretaries; they assault hotel maids, or at least are accused of such, and sleep with the nanny. Is there a normal percentage of oversexed people among powerful men, and it's just easier to notice their lapses, their misconduct, because they are so visible?
Van der Dennen: Both may be true. Powerful men have a both an overactive libido as compared to 'normal' men, but they are also more willing to gamble that they can get away with their sexual activities whenever and wherever. Power is a great aphrodisiac, as Kissinger said. Powerful men almost automatically expect other people to do their bidding. Sex is just part of that game. Powerful women also have larger-than-average sexual appetites.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Would Clinton, Berlusconi, Strauss-Kahn and Schwarzenegger have done the same if they weren't in a position of power? Or is it the power itself that makes them do such things?
Van der Dennen: Undoubtedly men who eventually reach positions of power have strong ambitions in that direction and indeed a certain recklessness and even unscrupulousness. But, in my opinion, it is the position of power itself that makes men arrogant, narcissistic, egocentric, oversexed, paranoid, despotic, and craving even more power, though there are exceptions to this rule. Powerful men generally have a keen eye for female beauty and attractiveness, and women generally are attracted to powerful, successful, famous, and wealthy men. Every "willing" woman confirms the power of the powerful man. » | Interview conducted by Rafaela von Bredow | Friday, May 27, 2011
The 27-year-old billionaire said his decision to kill his own meat was part of a “personal challenge” he had set himself to appreciate food more and understand where it comes from.
Earlier this month he announced on his personal Facebook account: “I just killed a pig and a goat.”
After a series of less than positive responses he explained that he wanted to live more sustainably by only eating what he had personally killed. That has included eating the heart, liver and feet of a chicken.
In an email to Fortune magazine he said: “I started thinking about this last year when I had a pig roast at my house. A bunch of people told me that even though they loved eating pork, they really didn't want to think about the fact that the pig used to be alive.
“That just seemed irresponsible to me. I don't have an issue with anything people choose to eat, but I do think they should take responsibility and be thankful for what they eat rather than trying to ignore where it came from. » | Nick Allen, Los Angeles | Friday, May 27, 2011
My comment:
Earlier this month he announced on his personal Facebook account: “I just killed a pig and a goat.” After a series of less than positive responses he explained that he wanted to live more sustainably by only eating what he had personally killed. That has included eating the heart, liver and feet of a chicken.
I hope he enjoyed the feet of the chicken! Not much flesh on those; and hellishly rough on the throat! What a load of tosh! Not much sensible coming out of America these days!
If he really wants to appreciate where the animals he eats come from, I suggest that he go into the countryside, and find a friendly farmer to show him round his farm. Then, after that, I would suggest that he visit a couple of abattoirs to see first-hand how meat is slaughtered, observe the blood flowing in the channels beneath his feet, and savour the stench. That will make him appreciate where his meat comes from.
To say that I want to eat beef, so I'm going to slaughter an ox is about as sensible as saying that I want to fly to the States, so I am going to build myself a plane! – © Mark
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Friday, May 27, 2011
Il fallait s'y attendre. Si certains espéraient un discours visionnaire de Mark Zuckerberg pour clore le forum e-G8, le fondateur de Facebook n'est pas sorti des clous du marketing. Le patron du réseau social aux 600 millions de membres a vanté les mérites de son entreprise et rappelé une énième fois l'"extraordinaire" histoire de Facebook et les raisons de son succès.
Interrogé sur les révolutions arabes, il s'est contenté de ne pas s'en attribuer tout le crédit. "Il serait particulièrement arrogant pour une entreprise de technologie de revendiquer un rôle dans les mouvements de protestation", a-t-il expliqué. Mais de son avis personnel sur la liberté d'expression et le pouvoir des réseaux sociaux, on ne saura rien : il ne faudrait pas blesser tel ou tel gouvernement. Même topo pour le respect de la vie privée. La star du forum s'est contentée de répéter les communiqués de Facebook : "Chacun doit fixer ses limites", a-t-il simplement affirmé. » | Guerric Poncet | Mercredi 25 Mai 2011
In The Spectator this week James Forsyth suggests that in the wake of the good results in the AV referendum and the local elections the Prime Minister may be becoming dangerously complacent about the next election. There is too much to be done for any complacency. We are more, not less under the thumb of Our Masters in Brussels and indeed our judicial masters in Brussels.
There is no sign of a repeal or even substantial amendments to NuLab’s grotesque Human Rights and Equality legislation. Ken Clarke’s out of touch and laid back attitude to crime has enraged a far wider constituency than those offended by his careless remarks about rape.
Now on top of all that come the latest figures showing the rising tide of foreigners, putting further strain on housing, schools, power, water and transport and health infrastructure. Last year the number of people coming into our country from overseas increased by almost 50 per cent. We are almost back to the record levels set by Blair. Fewer people are now leaving Britain and more and more are pouring in. Many are from central Europe, and to be fair they are mostly coming here to work, doing jobs declined by our native unemployed.
They, of course, need no visas or work permits and – short of leaving the EU – there is nothing that we can do about that. However, even where we are allowed to defend our own borders the Lib-Dem/Con Coalition granted 6 per cent more work permits than Mr Brown’s government did in its last year of office.
Belatedly, a cap on non-EU migrants was imposed last month, but the Coalition is still trying to bring Turkey into the EEC which would unleash a new uncontrolled wave of immigration. Ministers look on, but do nothing, as the Judiciary blocks the deportation of foreign criminals and blithely puts the interests of foreign law-breakers ahead of those of the law-abiding British. Nor has anything been done to stop the admission of asylum seekers on the grounds that they would be happier here than in their own countries. » | Norman Tebbit | Friday, May 27, 2011
My comment:
There was a time when one could count on the Conservatives to do the right thing. Alas, those days appear to be over. It is difficult to see much difference anymore between NuLabour, Liberals, or Conservatives. They're all a shabby, spineless lot. As for upholding all that is best about Britain, none of the politicians are willing to do it anymore.
Immigration has always been a hot-button issue. But no politician has the courage to deal with the ongoing problem for fear of sounding racist. But the fact is clear: immigration needs to be controlled and severely restricted. And it could be; but the will isn't there.
We should take a leaf out of the Swiss' book and set up a totally separate police department, a department that deals only with issues pertaining to immigrants. It would be a dedicated team, with a police station in all main towns.
In German-speaking Switzerland, it is known as the Fremdenpolizei. They deal only with issues relating to foreigners resident in the country; and they keep a close eye on them, ensuring that they are there legally, etc. The system works well. Why can't we have such a system in this country?
Further, if our companies need foreign workers, why can't we move over to a guest worker system? Guest workers can come here for a specified time, often times extendable. But when they are no longer required, they go home. That way, our companies' needs for workers are met. But the system doesn't have long-term consequences for the nation. – © Mark
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Large British and American flags lined the Mall, where, less than a month before, Prince William and his new bride, the Duchess of Cambridge, rode to Buckingham Palace. The nearby Green Park still bore large bare patches where the world's media had camped out for the marriage.
Inside the palace, the crimson-carpeted ballroom was laid out with 19th-century silverware, Louis XVI porcelain and fragrant floral arrangements more than 12 feet (four meters) tall. Every gilded ornament had its own rich history — the Rockingham dessert service, for example, was first used for Queen Victoria's coronation in 1838.
The 170 or so guests joining the Obamas for dinner include Britain's prime minister, senior royalty, ambassadors, business leaders, top brass, leading academics, prominent nobility and even the archbishop of Canterbury — who officiated at William's April 29 wedding.
No white-tie state dinner would be complete without a side helping of celebrity. Tom Hanks was on the guest list, as was Tim Burton, Kevin Spacey and Helena Bonham-Carter — who won plaudits for her recent portrayal of the queen's mother in the Academy Award-winning movie "The King's Speech."
The menu, printed in French on dainty white cards, included sole, Windsor lamb with basil, green bean panache and Charlotte a la Vanille for dessert. Wines include Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 2004 and Royal Vintage Port from 1963. » | Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press | Tuesday, May 24, 2011
State Banquet Menu for President Obama »
Related »
Barcelona - Die Polizei versuchte am Freitag, den zentralen Platz Plaza de Cataluña in Barcelona zu räumen, wo etwa 200 Mitglieder der spanischen Protestbewegung seit zwölf Tagen campierten. Daraufhin kam es erstmals seit Beginn der Protestwelle in Spanien zu schweren Zusammenstößen zwischen Sicherheitskräften und Demonstranten. Bei den Auseinandersetzungen wurden nach Angaben der Behörden mehr als 120 Menschen verletzt, darunter 37 Polizisten. Weiter lesen und einen Beitrag abgeben » | fdi/dpa | Freitag, 27. Mai 2011
Smokers can no longer legally light up in the city's public parks, beaches and promenades. Pedestrian plazas are also no smoking zones, including the ones in Times Square and Herald Square.
But many smokers said they would flout the ban, despite the threat of a $50 fine.
People will be fined for lighting up in any New York parks - except the Roberto Clemente, Riverbank, Gantry Plaza, Empire-Fulton Ferry, East River, Bayswater Point, Clay Pit Ponds State Parks.
But some smokers on the streets of New York said it was worth risking the $50 penalty. Continue reading and comment » | Paul Bentley | Friday, May 27, 2011
My comment:
America is no longer 'The Land of the Free.' Wherever you go in the US today, there are restrictions. The US used to be a wonderful, fun country to go to. That's all changed now. Political correctness has taken over. Alas, this side of the Atlantic, we copy every ridiculous idea Americans come up with. We have no backbone to do our own thing, in our own way. To show a little tolerance is always a good thing. I am not a smoker. I am an ex-smoker. But when I gave up smoking a couple of years ago, I vowed that I would never allow myself to become a whinger. Bloomberg used to be a chain-smoker. But when he gave up, he became just that: a whinger!, He expected the rest of the world to give up because he did. Surely, if someone wants to enjoy a smoke, let that person do so. To worry about second-hand smoke in New York is about as sensible as worrying about snow on a skiing holiday in the Alps. In the Alps, you find snow; in a city like NY, you find pollution. – © Mark
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Lawyers for the former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn say they have information that could "gravely undermine the credibility" of the hotel maid who has accused him of trying to rape her.
In a letter to Manhattan prosecutors, Strauss-Kahn's lawyers William Taylor and Ben Brafman complained about New York police leaking information on the case to the media and asserted his right to a fair trial.
"Indeed, were we intent on improperly feeding the media frenzy we could now release substantial information that in our view would seriously undermine the quality of this prosecution and also gravely undermine the credibility of the complainant in this case," Taylor and Brafman wrote.
"We are requesting that you use whatever resources are appropriate to stop further leaking immediately," they said in the letter, dated 25 May and addressed to Cyrus Vance, the Manhattan district attorney. » | Reuters | Thursday, May 26, 2011
THE OBSERVER: How Dominique Strauss-Kahn's arrest awoke a dormant anger in the heart of France's women: When the former head of the IMF was taken into custody, many in the French elite saw him as a victim – until an outraged feminist movement began to speak out against what it saw as years of pernicious and ingrained sexism in French life » | Lizzy Davies in Paris | Sunday, May 22, 2011
Britain's former ambassador to Afghanistan has attacked the conduct of the war by the US commander, General David Petraeus, describing the future CIA chief's tactics as counter-productive and "profoundly wrong".
Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, who also served as the UK's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, added that Petraeus should be "ashamed of himself" for making claims of the number of insurgent commanders his forces had killed.
"He has increased the violence, trebled the number of special forces raids by British, American, Dutch and Australian special forces going out killing Taliban commanders, and there has been a lot more rather regrettable boasting from the military about the body count," said Cowper-Coles. He added that the use of statistics was reminiscent of the Vietnam war. "It is profoundly wrong and it's not conducive to a stable political settlement."
Petraeus is due to leave Afghanistan to become CIA director this summer. Since taking command of US and coalition troops in Afghanistan last June, he has increased the use of special forces raids and drone attacks against Taliban commanders. » | Julian Borger, diplomatic editor | Wednesday, May 25, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Sherard Cowper-Coles:'The nightly slaughter of the Taliban is profoundly wrong': When he was British ambassador in Afghanistan, Sherard Cowper-Coles was a lone voice as an outspoken critic of western policy. Now he's back and he's sticking to his guns » | Julian Borger | Wednesday, May 25, 2011
In February, a group of masked gunmen stopped a minibus carrying skiers in the internal republic of Kabardino-Balkaria and shot dead three tourists from Moscow in cold blood. A ski lift was bombed soon afterwards and police later defused a series of car bombs in the area.
The terrorists, who are fighting to establish an Islamist Caliphate across southern Russia, openly said they viewed tourists as a legitimate target. For them, the entire North Caucasus area is a war zone and ethnic Russians are an occupying force that they hope to drive out.
The Kremlin's response to the murders was typically robust. Special Forces were sent into the mountainous region to hunt the gunmen and were reported to have shot dead at least some of the group. » | Andrew Osborn, Moscow | Friday, May 27, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: France to help Russia build ski resorts in North Caucases: France will help Russia with its ambitious plan to create a constellation of ski resorts in the North Caucasus, a poor region plagued by insurgent violence. » | Friday, May 27, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: For any Russian worth his caviar there is only one place to be seen in winter.
Alpine resorts such as Courchevel are a magnet for fur-hatted men and women in Chanel ski suits, its pistes signposted in Cyrillic script and its boutiques offering wealthy oligarchs must-have diamond-encrusted skis.
But now an ambitious consortium of developers is hoping to lure Russian and European skiers to a new winter playground – far from the softly twinkling lights of traditional Alpine villages.
They are to construct a cluster of five ski resorts in the war-torn North Caucasus, stretching across southern Russia from the Black Sea in the west to the Caspian Sea in the east, and challenging the widely-held belief that the area is dangerous and out of bounds. The planners also want to upgrade Mineralnye Vody airport for international flights, putting it within four hours' flying time of Britain.
The five resorts – Lagonaki, Arkhyz, Mount Elbrus, Mamison and Matlas – will be strung out across a mountain range which has seen fierce fighting with Georgia, given refuge to Islamic militants, and been plagued by regular kidnappings, bombings and murders.
Yet this week in the picture-postcard Swiss ski resort of Davos, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will formally unveil the plan for the network of ski resorts, named Peak 5642 after Mt Elbrus, the highest mountain in the Caucasus at 18,442ft (5,642 metres) – some 2,660 higher than Alps' Mont Blanc. » | Harriet Alexander | Sunday, January 23, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Pakistan needs to to understand that anti-Americanism and conspiracy theories will not end its problems, according to Hillary Clinton.
Mrs Clinton, the US secretary of state, on the first visit to Pakistan of a member of the Obama administration since the death of Osama bin Laden, said on Friday that both Washington and Islamabad need to do more to battle Islamist militancy and that relations between the two allies had reach a turning point.
"Pakistan should understand that anti-Americanism and conspiracy theories will not make the problem disappear," Mrs Clinton told a news conference following talks with Pakistan's military and civilian leaders.
Pakistan was left humiliated and angry after an American raid that killed bin Laden took place only two hours from the capital on May 2.
The unilateral operation has fuelled widespread anti-American sentiment in the country, which has long been high over a covert CIA drone war against militant commanders in the country's northwestern tribal belt.
Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, who accompanied Mrs Clinton in her meetings pleaded for greater co-operation between the two wary allies in the war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda. » | Friday, May 27, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Libyan leader said to be hiding in hospitals by night, and many senior commanders appear to have stopped using phones
David Cameron has been told by UK intelligence that Muammar Gaddafiis [sic] increasingly paranoid, on the run, and hiding in hospitals by night, and that his senior commanders in the regime are unable to communicate with one another.
The reports from MI6 relayed to the cabinet's national security council this week prompted Cameron to authorise a high-risk escalation of attacks by agreeing to deploy four Apache helicopters into Libya with orders to gun down regime leaders and assets hiding in built-up areas.
The French had leaked that Britain was likely to deploy helicopters, but the Whitehall ministerial decision was only made today.
The taking of the decision was confirmed by British officials attending the G8 summit of world leaders. Diplomatic sources, sounding more confident than at any point since the air assaults, claimed: "He is on the run."
Gaddafi's regime made its most plaintive plea yet for a ceasefire, by offering to talk to anti-government rebels, move towards a constitutional government, and compensate victims of the three-month conflict. » | Patrick Wintour in Deauville and Martin Chulov | Thursday, May 26, 2011
Related »
Amnesty International has said the Syrian government should be put to trial over its alleged "shoot to kill policy" towards anti-government demonstrators.
The human rights group has pointed to citizen-captured video that apparently show security forces killing and beating civilians.
More than 1,000 civilians have been killed across Syria since protests first erupted in mid-March, according to numerous human rights groups
Syria has banned international journalists from the country, making it almost impossible to independently verify the veracity of the videos.
Monica Villamizar reports.
Britain and the United States have urged all their nationals to leave Yemen and most American diplomats and their families were evacuated yesterday. Britain followed suit by reducing their embassy numbers "to a level sufficient only to work on the most pressing and vital British national interests in Yemen."
For much of the day the city echoed to the crump of exploding mortar shells and heavy bursts of machine gunfire as troops loyal to Mr Saleh clashed with militiamen controlled by Sadiq al-Ahmar, a powerful tribal chief and former ally.
Up to 40 people were killed, bringing the death toll to more than 100 since Sunday, when Mr Saleh reneged on a pledge to stand down for a third time, despite intense pressure from the West to go.
The violence has all but ended Yemen's hopes of following the leads of Egypt and Tunisia by overthrowing an autocratic leader through people power alone after three months of mass protests demanding the president's resignation.
Instead, the country, long one of the Arab world's most unstable, is facing the prospect of a deadly conflict between the remnants of Mr Saleh's army and heavily armed tribal militias once held in check by the president's effective but corrupt system of patronage. » | Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Thursday, May 26, 2011
Miss Caplin, a long-standing friend of Cherie Blair, insisted that she was not “some sort of sexpot or randy masseuse” and had not engaged in any “hanky-panky” when she gave massages to the former prime minister.
Her counsel, David Price QC, also said that Miss Caplin had not acted as a “Svengali or Rasputin type figure” in the Blairs’ marriage.
Miss Caplin made her extraordinary denials during libel proceedings against a newspaper in the High Court in London. She is taking legal action over an article that questioned whether she was planning to “blow the lid on Tony and Cherie Blair’s sex secrets”.
Miss Caplin was a “lifestyle adviser” and fitness trainer to Cherie Blair throughout her time at Downing Street.
She attracted controversy in November 2002 when Peter Foster, a convicted Australian fraudster and her then boyfriend, negotiated a £69,000 discount on the purchase of two flats in Bristol on behalf of Mrs Blair. » | Steven Swinford | Thursday, May 26, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A new book has revealed how the Red Cross and the Vatican helped thousands of Nazis including men like Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele to escape justice after the war.
In his book "Nazis On The Run: How Hitler's Henchmen Fled Europe" Gerald Steinacher, a research fellow from Harvard University, sheds light on just how thousands of Nazis managed to evade detection and start a new life.
Steinacher based much of his book on unpublished documents held by the Red Cross that revealed a system struggling to cope with the millions of displaced people in post-war Europe, and one that could be exploited by fleeing Nazis.
The historian estimates the some 8,000 SS men managed to escape to Britain and Canada alone using documents issued to them by the Red Cross by mistake. » | Matthew Day, Warsaw | Thursday, May 26, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Col Muammar Gaddafi is “increasingly worried” he will be killed by Nato and has taken to hiding in Libyan hospitals to avoid air strikes, British intelligence reports suggest.
Diplomatic sources last night disclosed that recent intelligence suggested the Libyan dictator was “paranoid” and “on the run” from Nato’s escalating attacks on his regime.
Hadeiba Hadi, Libya’s ambassador to the European Union, said on Thursday he was defecting along with all his staff. The envoy said he and his colleagues wanted “to place ourselves at the service of the Libyan people in the struggle for democracy”.
In the latest move to step up the military pressure on Col Gaddafi, David Cameron gave the final authorisation for Apache attack helicopters to start flying into Libya.
Britain and France have intensified attacks on Tripoli this week and Col Gaddafi, who has not appeared in public for weeks, was said to be moving between different hospitals.
Nato publicly denies targeting Col Gaddafi, but at least one strike has been launched on a building where he was thought to be present. » | Andrew Porter, Political Editor in Deauville | Thursday, May 26, 2011
Gary Smith, 38, was beaten as he walked to Central Foundation Girls' School in Bow, east London, last July.
The gang left him unconscious after attacking him with a metal rod and a brick, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
The four all pleaded guilty to GBH with intent and given an indeterminate jail sentence with a minimum of five years.
Simon Alam, 19, of Whitechapel, Azad Hussain, 26, of Wapping, Sheikh Rashid, 27, of Shadwell, and Akmol Hussein, 26, of Bethnal Green, all in east London, were all jailed on Thursday.
Judge John Hand QC said he believed the four remained a danger to the public because of their extreme religious beliefs.
Addressing the defendants one by one, he said: "Your belief is that you carried out a duty to your God and you did so with no mercy.
"If you think that people around you in society present an insult or threat to God then you will not hesitate in attacking again in the way that you have acted." » | Thursday, May 26, 2011
Chabadabada… A Deauville on connaît bien la chanson d’Un Homme, Une femme, cette belle histoire d’amour de Claude Lelouch. Désormais c’est l’histoire d’une douce maternité qui s’écrit. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, l’épouse du Président de la République, a suivi son mari pour le G8, et leur(s) futur(s) enfant(s) aussi. Lors d’un rendez-vous au sommet entre compagnes de grands dirigeants, la chanteuse a laissé apparaître ses premières formes de femme enceinte dans une simple petite robe blanche. Si elle a dû décliner l’invitation de Cannes pour présenter Midnight In Paris, il était hors de question qu’elle laisse son mari partir seul sur la côte normande. Et au milieu de Maria Barroso, Lauren Harper (la femme du premier ministre canadien), Geetri Von Rompuy (l’épouse du Président du Conseil Européen) et Svetlana Medvedeva, notre First Lady irradie. » | Laure Costey | Jeudi 26 Mai 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Carla Bruni shows off her 'baby bump' at G8 summit: Carla Bruni showed off a rounded belly at the G8 summit, all but confirming rumours that the French first lady is pregnant. » | Thursday, May 26, 2011
La Commission européenne a appelé jeudi les personnes ayant récemment effectué une visite en Allemagne à être vigilants en cas de symptômes de maladie.
Cet avertissement intervient du fait de la propagation rapide dans le pays d’une bactérie soupçonnée d’avoir causé la mort de quatre personnes.
«Pour le moment, il n’y a pas d’élément établissant une contagion à d’autres pays. Mais des cas suspects en Suède, au Royaume-Uni et aux Pays-Bas chez des personnes ayant récemment voyagé en Allemagne sont en cours d’examen», a indiqué le porte-parole de la Commission pour les questions de santé, Frédéric Vincent.
L’UE appelle les personnes ayant récemment effectué une visite en Allemagne «à faire attention à des symptômes telles que des diarrhée accompagnée de saignements et de consulter leur médecin». La Commission souligne qu’il est «essentiel d’identifier les cas potentiels liés à cette maladie (....) pour éviter la propagation» de l’infection. » | ATS / AFP | Jeudi 26 Mai 2011
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Une bactérie dangereuse inquiète l'Allemagne, déjà trois décès : SANTÉ | L'Allemagne a jugé mercredi "vraiment préoccupante" la propagation rapide d’une bactérie dangereuse qui pourrait déjà avoir causé la mort de trois personnes. » | AFP | Mercredi 25 Mai 2011
The jewel-encrusted 2.75 tonne black carriage, made with $250,000 (£161,000) of Australian taxpayers' money, was supposed to be delivered in 2006, but government officials have admitted they have no idea where it is.
The coach, named Britannia, is decorated with 24 diamonds, 130 sapphires and 400 books of gold leaf and is estimated to be worth a total of A$1.5 million (£900,000).
It was made by monarchist Jim Frecklington and is said to feature fragments of more than 100 British historical artefacts including timber from Henry VIII's flagship the Mary Rose, a piece of the 1760 doorway from 10 Downing Street and gold from Admiral Nelson's crown from the Battle of Trafalgar.
While he was prime minister, John Howard committed $250,000 worth of public money to the project to support "Australian craftsmanship". » | Bonnie Malkin, Sydney | Thursday, May 26, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Manal al-Sharif, the Saudi mother arrested for uploading a video of her driving on YouTube, faces another 10 days in jail
A Saudi Arabian woman who posted a video online of her driving her car is facing another 10 days in prison, according to reports from the kingdom.
Manal al-Sharif, a 32-year old mother who drove around the eastern city of Khobar last Saturday, had been expecting to be released on Friday after five days in jail on charges her lawyer described as driving without a licence, provoking other women to do the same and provoking public opinion in Saudi Arabia. It is disputed by lawyers whether it is illegal for women to drive under national law but it is socially and religiously unacceptable in many quarters.
"The investigator needs another 10 days to complete his investigation," said Al-Sharif's lawyer, Adnan Al Salah. "He will decide whether Manal is innocent and has to be released or he will refer her to the prosecution unit, a government organisation and they might refer her to a special prosecutor to deal with the case. I feel the fair and right thing would have been to release her on bail."
The extension of the investigation was interpreted as a show of defiance by the Saudi authorities in the face of growing domestic and international pressure to release Al-Sharif. » | Robert Booth and Mona Mahmoud | Thursday, May 26, 2011
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: In einer Regierungserklärung zum G-8-Gipfel im französischen Deauville sagt Bundeskanzlerin Merkel Ländern wie Ägypten und Tunesien Unterstützung zu. Für SPD-Fraktionschef Steinmeier fehlen der Regierung eigene Antworten auf die „Arabellion“.
Angesichts der politischen Umwälzungen in Nordafrika hat Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) den Ländern konkrete und schnelle Hilfe versprochen und einen Schuldenverzicht angekündigt. Die ersten politischen Erfolge dürften nicht durch wirtschaftliche Instabilität gefährdet werden, sagte die Kanzlerin am Donnerstag in einer Regierungserklärung im Bundestag zum G-8-Gipfel im französischen Deauville.
Die Hilfe solle schnell in Gang kommen, „denn Zeit zählt in dieser Region“. Merkel nannte es eine „historische europäische Verpflichtung“, den Menschen, die in Nordafrika und Teilen der arabischen Welt für Freiheit und Menschenrechte auf die Straße gehen, zur Seite zu stehen. Die Entwicklungen seien für alle „eine historische Chance“. In Deauville solle auch darüber gesprochen werden, wie zusammen mit den internationalen Finanzinstitutionen ein „bedeutendes Maßnahmenpaket“ geschnürt werden könne. » | FAZ.NET mit dpa/AFP | Donnerstag, 26. Mai 2011
LE FIGARO: EN IMAGES - L'annonce immobilière du 153 Franklin Street, où l'ex-patron du FMI a posé ses valises mercredi soir, montre une demeure luxueuse, équipée d'une salle de sport et d'une petite salle de cinéma.
The former Chief of Staff of the Bosnian Serb Army was reportedly seized by police after an anonymous tip-off.
Boris Tadic, the Serbian president, said that Mladic, has been captured.
"On behalf of the Republic of Serbia we announce that Ratko Mladic has been arrested," Mr Tadic said at a press conference.
Croatian media, which first broke the story, said police there got confirmation from their Serbian colleagues that DNA analysis confirmed Mladic's identity. Belgrade's B92 radio said Mladic was arrested Thursday in a village close to the northern Serbian town of Zrenjanin.
Serbian media reported that the suspect was living under the name of Milorad Komadic. » | Murray Wardrop | Thursday, May 26, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Saudi Arabian troops sent into Bahrain to crush a popular uprising may have had British military training, the Government has admitted.
The British Government has said it is "deeply concerned" by reports of human rights abuses in Bahrain, where the ruling royal family has used Saudi troops to put down Shi'ite demonstrations.
The Sunni royal family in Saudi Arabia fears the growing influence of Shi'ite Iran in the Middle East, and is helping Bahrain's Sunni rulers retain power.
The Ministry of Defence has now admitted that members of the Saudi Arabian National Guard sent into Bahrain may have received military training from the British Armed Forces in Saudi Arabia.
The revelation is likely to renew allegations that the Coalition is sending mixed messages on democracy in the Middle East.
Despite British criticism of the Bahrainis' actions, David Cameron last week welcomed the Crown Prince of Bahrain to Downing Street, drawing criticism from human rights groups. » | James Kirkup, Political Correspondent | Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Khaled Kaim, deputy foreign minister, for the first time admitted that all political options were on the table in future negotiations over the country's future.
"This is for the Libyan people to decide," he told The Daily Telegraph.
He insisted that the Libyan leader was not considering an immediate "exit strategy" and the issue would not be subject to negotiations with the West or Nato.
But the admission came as European Union and African Union diplomats set out terms for a ceasefire and possible settlement, and the Libyan government sent its own ceasefire proposals to the United Nations.
For the first time, there were signs that all these proposals were beginning to move to a common ground, in which Col Gaddafi might be allowed to remain in power but only temporarily, while ceasefire negotiations took place. » | Richard Spencer, Tripoli | Thursdaay, May 26, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Pope has shut down a 500-year-old Rome monastery and kicked out its monks after it gained notoriety for hosting a performance by a lap dancer-turned-nun and welcomed celebrities such as Madonna.
Benedict XVI ordered the closure of the monastery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem (Santa Croce in Gerusalemmme), which holds some of the Roman Catholic Church's most prized relics, because of "financial and liturgical irregularities", a Vatican spokesman told The Daily Telegraph.
Around 20 Cistercian monks will be transferred to other monasteries around Italy, after it was found that their "lifestyles" were "not in keeping" with Church doctrine, bringing to an end a monastic presence on the site that dates back five centuries.
They reportedly demonstrated "questionable behaviour and a lack of moral discipline" – a possible allusion to homosexual relations, which the Church regards as a sin.
The historic monastery is attached to the Church of the Holy Cross, which was founded in 320AD by the mother of the Emperor Constantine, St Helena, who is said to have brought back the relics from the Holy Land.
In recent years it has established a reputation for publicity-seeking stunts and the courting of wealthy celebrities, including Gloria Estefan and Madonna. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Thursday, May 26, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Relics held at Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem: The Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem – known in Italian as Santa Croce in Gerusalemme – holds some of the Roman Catholic Church's most prized relics. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Thursday, May 26, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: History of the Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem: The history of the Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, one of Rome's best known basilicas, stretches back nearly 2,000 years. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Thursday, May 26, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been moved to a four-bedroom townhouse in Manhattan where he will remain under house arrest as he awaits trial in his sexual assault case.
The former IMF boss and French presidential contender was seen smiling as he got into a grey sport utility vehicle under tight security.
He was moved about a mile from the penthouse where he had been staying to a stately red brick town home in the fashionable Tribeca district.
The building, which has five bathrooms, is located on a cobblestone street in one of Manhattan's most exclusive neighbourhoods. It also is close to the courthouse where he will attend hearings.
William Taylor, his lawyer, said he was "doing fine" under house arrest.
"Not much he can do," Mr Taylor said. » | Thursday, May 26, 2011
Consensus is growing that interest rates have been kept too low for too long and that inflation, which stands at 4.5 per cent, is accelerating dangerously, just as inequality deepens, growth flatlines and incomes decline. Worse still, as we enter the age of austerity, is that near-zero interest rates are artificially supporting an already unstable housing market. Spencer Dale, chief economist at the Bank of England and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), has spoken of the immediate need to raise the Bank's base rate and then to keep nudging it upwards. "I don't take lightly the impact this could have on some families," he said in an interview with the Financial Times on 21 May. "But I think the cost to our economy as a whole - were inflation to persist for longer and our credibility [to] start to be eroded - would be even worse."
The coalition government's "emergency" def¬icit reduction programme is based on one fundamental principle: when fiscal policy is so tight, monetary policy needs to remain as loose as possible. It's often said that, because of the rapidity and harshness of the cuts in public spending as well as the absence of growth in the UK economy, the government needs greater flexibility. It needs to be less rigid and more pragmatic. It needs a plan B, dare I use the cliché.
In one sense, it already has a plan B (abnormally low interest rates and the option of more quantitative easing). What it might soon need, especially if the MPC votes to raise interest rates, is a plan C (which would mean slower cuts and the kind of humiliating policy reversal that the Chancellor, George Osborne, would never sanction).
I put this to the Business Secretary, Vince Cable, when we meet on a bright, breezy afternoon at his office, with its high windows and fine views of Westminster Abbey. Reclining in a large, soft chair and sipping from a mug of tea, Cable, who has shrewd eyes and a rumpled charm, is quick to point out that the greater danger is not inflation, but deflation.
He cites the long deflationary slump that followed the financial crisis in Japan at the beginning of the 1990s as a warning of what might lie ahead for Britain. » | Jason Cowley | Wednesday, May 25, 2011
"I think the thing that worries me more than anything else [is that] we really haven't engaged with the real depths and seriousness of the financial crash. I was very impressed with that Warren Buffett metaphor that asset-backed mortgage lending was the atomic bomb, and that there are hydrogen bombs out there. I just don't think that collectively governments have got to grips with this at all." So another huge bomb could go off, sooner rather than later? "It's not imminent. But you can see this happening." – Dr. Vince Cable
NEW STATESMAN: The Vince Cable Interview »
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
A broadcasting era has come to an end after the last ever episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show, which has become the highest-rated programme of its kind in history, aired in the US.
The talk show has run for 25 years and over that time, Winfrey, its host and producer, has become one of the most influential people in the world.
Millions of people across the world tune in to watch the talk show queen, who rose to stardom from humble beginnings.
Her influence - dubbed the 'Oprah Effect' - is so strong that almost any product appearing on her show sees a dramatic rise in sales.
The effect has even rippled to the Middle East, where Muna Abu Sulayman has been described as the Saudi Arabian 'Oprah'.
Sulayman, who is also the first Saudi woman to be appointed a UN goodwill ambassador, told Al Jazeera about Winfrey's impact on her own career.
Cath Turner reports from Chicago.
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