Atatürks säkulare Türkei steht vor Zerstörung
WELTONLINE: Säkulare und liberale Türken erleben ein böses Erwachen. Atatürks Erbe steht vor der Zerstörung. Nicht durch eine äußere Macht, sondern von innen, durch Menschen, die einen islamischen Staat herbeisehnen, warnt Islamkritikerin Ayaan Hirsi Ali auf WELT ONLINE.

Seit Kemal Atatürks Zeiten ist die Türkei gespalten in jene, die den Staat nach islamischen Leitsätzen führen wollen, und solche, die Allah aus dem öffentlichen Raum heraushalten wollen. Die Befürworter des Islam in der Regierung wie Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Abdullah Gül und ihre AKP sind bemerkenswert erfolgreich gewesen. Anders als die säkularen Liberalen haben sie begriffen, dass man die Demokratie mit demokratischen Mitteln aushöhlen kann. Auf diese Einsicht gründet sich ihre machtvolle Strategie. Drei Säulen dieser Strategie verdienen eine eingehende Betrachtung. Wie Islamisten die Herzen der Türken erobern (mehr)

Mark Alexander

« Plus de mille véhicules ont été brûlés depuis dimanche soir en France »
LE FIGARO: Plus de mille véhicules ont été brûlés depuis dimanche soir en France, souvent en marge de manifestations organisées par l'extrême gauche.

TROIS jours après l'élection de Nicolas Sarkozy, les forces de l'ordre demeurent sur les dents. L'embrasement tant redouté des banlieues n'a certes pas eu lieu. Pourtant, depuis dimanche soir, les incidents sporadiques se sont multipliés à Paris et dans plusieurs villes de province. Selon des analystes de la place Beauvau, ces bouffées de violence semblent reposer sur deux ressorts : la colère de jeunes exclus dans les cités sensibles et, dans une plus large mesure, l'activisme de l'extrême-gauche au coeur des grandes agglomérations. Comme au soir du second tour, l'est de Paris a été le berceau, dans la nuit de lundi à hier, d'une manifestation hostile orchestrée par 250 jeunes sympathisants socialistes ainsi qu'un « noyau dur » d'une cinquantaine de militants de l'ultra-gauche (lire ci-dessous). Vers 20 heures, le cortège, scandant « Sarko, facho ! Le peuple aura ta peau ! » ou « Sarko, racaille, il faut que tu t'en ailles ! », a bloqué la place de la Bastille avant de fondre sur la rue de la Roquette. « Les plus virulents, armés de marteaux, étaient venus dans le seul but de casser », déplore un commissaire parisien. Des escarmouches ont éclaté avec les forces de l'ordre tandis que des vitrines ont été brisées et dix voitures incendiées dans les XIe et XIIe arrondissements. L'ultragauche se déchaîne contre Sarkozy (encore)

LE MONDE: Nouvelle soirée de manifestations hostiles à Nicolas Sarkozy

Mark Alexander

Olli Rehn et la Commission européenne contre Nicolas Sarkozy
LE FIGARO: Le président de la Commission rappelle que le processus d'adhésion d'Ankara a été approuvé à l'unanimité.

LA COMMISSION européenne monte au créneau, depuis trois jours, pour défendre la candidature de la Turquie, menacée par les déclarations du futur président français. Hier, Olli Rehn, le commissaire à l'Élargissement, recevait le négociateur turc Ali Babacan, à Bruxelles et a tenté de le rassurer. Une « conférence d'adhésion » est prévue à Bruxelles le 26 juin prochain, afin d'ouvrir trois nouveaux chapitres de négociation - sur 35 au total. Les chapitres en question concernent la politique économique et monétaire, les statistiques et le contrôle financier. Leur ouverture ne pose en principe aucun problème technique, sauf si la France décidait d'y opposer son veto. « Ce sera la première occasion de tester la nouvelle position française sur la Turquie », remarque-t-on à Bruxelles. « S'il y a blocage, il y aura une crise majeure entre la France et la Turquie », prévient-on à la Commission. Bruxelles défend la Turquie contre Sarkozy (encore) d’Alexandrine Bouilhet

Mark Alexander

BAE shrugs off concerns about US fall-out and continues to drive deep into US market
THE TELEGRAPH: BAE Systems is shrugging off concerns about the US fallout from corruption allegations involving Saudi Arabia and driving deeper into the huge American defence market.

The British defence giant has agreed to pay $4.1bn (£2bn) cash to buy Armor Holdings, the military vehicle manufacturer that also provides armour plating for the Humvee and other front-line transporters.
BAE plans to raise £750m selling new shares to pay for Armor.

A successful takeover would increase turnover in the US from 36pc to 42pc of the group total and catapult BAE into sixth place in the Pentagon's list of major suppliers of military hardware. BAE drives deep into US (Read on) By Roland Gribben

Mark Alexander

Zum Trotz der Europäer wird mit der Türkei weiter verhandelt

Bild dank der NZZ

NZZ: Weitere Kapitel sollen eröffnet werden
Die EU-Beitrittsverhandlungen mit der Türkei sollen fortgesetzt werden. Dies erklärte der Erweiterungskommissar der Europäischen Union, Rehn, am Dienstag nach einem Treffen mit dem türkischen Chefunterhändler Babacan. Ungeachtet der politischen Krise in der Türkei sollen weitere Verhandlungskapitel eröffnet werden. Die EU will Verhandlungen mit der Türkei fortsetzen (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Leading Governments of Europe Want Wolfowitz Out

Photo of Paul Wolfowitz courtesy of SpiegelOnline International

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Leading governments of Europe signaled that they were willing to let the United States choose the bank's next chief if Paul D. Wolfowitz stepped down soon, officials said.

Leading governments of Europe, mounting a new campaign to push Paul D. Wolfowitz from his job as World Bank president, signaled Monday that they were willing to let the United States choose the bank's next chief, but only if Mr. Wolfowitz stepped down soon, European officials said. Deal Is Offered for Chief’s Exit at World Bank (Read on)

Mark Alexander

BAE closely examined by US in the alleged bribery of Saudi officials case
FINANCIAL TIMES: Congress is stepping up its scrutiny of the UK government’s move to halt a bribery investigation into BAE as the British company increases its US profile with the $4.1bn purchase of Armor Holdings.

The deal – for the biggest maker of armour for Humvee transport vehicles – cements BAE’s status as the Pentagon’s largest foreign contractor.

Washington issued a formal protest in January after the UK Serious Fraud Office prematurely terminated an investigation into allegations that BAE might have bribed officials in Saudi Arabia to secure defence contracts. US steps up scrutiny of BAE case (Read on)

Mark Alexander

Sarkozy Has His Work Cut Out For Him: It’s Going To Be A Rough Road Ahead
FINANCIAL TIMES: The election of Nicolas Sarkozy as the next president of France was greeted with a light smattering of riots across the country. Mr Sarkozy knows that could be just the aperitif. There is a real risk of social unrest, as France’s new president tries to deliver on his promise of “rupture” with the past.

Mr Sarkozy knows that three prime ministers of the Chirac era – Alain Juppé, Jean-Pierre Raffarin and Dominique de Villepin – were forced to abandon economic reforms in the face of popular demonstrations. But he is determined that things will be different this time. One member of the Sarkozy inner circle argues that previous rounds of reform failed because President Jacques Chirac lost his nerve. With “Nicolas” in the Élysée palace, things will be different.

The new president will certainly need nerves of steel because the reforms he hopes to push through in his first 100 days in office could almost be designed to antagonise every strike-happy interest group in the country. France braced for stiff dose of Thatcherism (Read on) By Gideon Rachman

FT: Sarkozy picks moderate as premier

NZZ: Sarkozy will von Reformen überzeugen: Keine Konfrontation mit Gewerkschaften

Mark Alexander

Little Time for Relaxation in Malta for Sarkozy
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: France experienced another night of riots and demonstrations on Monday night in reaction to Sarkozy's victory. But the president elect was already far away with his family on the island of Malta. It is unlikely that he will find much time to relax: he has to form his cabinet, prepare for parliamentary elections and brace himself for battle with the trade unions. Riots Plague Paris as Sarkozy Turns to Tasks Ahead (Read on)

Mark Alexander

Die Deutschen essen sich krank

Foto dank Google Images

SPIEGELONLINE: Zu viel, zu fett, zu süß: Die Bundesbürger futtern sich krank, und das kostet. Die Bundesregierung will mit einem Aktionsplan die Bürger gesünder machen und so einige Milliarden einsparen - in der Mittagspause soll es losgehen.

Berlin - Das Kantinenessen in Deutschland soll besser werden, und überhaupt sollen die Deutschen sich gesünder ernähren. "Bereits 26 Prozent der Bevölkerung essen einmal täglich auswärts, das sind acht Prozent mehr als vor zehn Jahren", heißt es in einem Eckpunkte-Papier zum Aktionsplan Ernährung der Bundesregierung, das der Deutschen Presseagentur (dpa) vorab vorliegt. Ungesunde Ernährung soll 70 Milliarden Euro im Jahr kosten (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Nuit “chaud” à Paris et dans plusieurs grandes villes en France dans la nuit de lundi à mardi

Photo grâce au Figaro

LE FIGARO: Pour la deuxième nuit consécutive, des incidents qui ont éclaté dans la nuit de lundi à mardi dans plusieurs grandes villes. Le bilan de la nuit de dimanche à lundi a, lui, été revu à la hausse. Nouvelle nuit "chaude" en France (encore)

Mark Alexander

Neue Krawalle in Frankreich gegen Sarkozy

Fotodank der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung

NZZ: Gewaltsame Ausschreitungen
Wie in der Wahlnacht haben am Montagabend Jugendliche in mehreren französische Städten gegen die Wahl des Konservativen Nicolas Sarkozy zum Präsidenten demonstriert. Dabei kam es erneut zu Ausschreitungen. Wieder Proteste gegen Sarkozy (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Mass Rally by Far-Left to Give Amnesty to 500,000 Illegal Migrants
THE TELEGRAPH: A mass rally yesterday called for a one-off amnesty to allow hundreds of thousands of immigrants living in the UK to become full citizens.

The Strangers Into Citizens campaign, which attracted thousands of supporters to Trafalgar Square, proposes that migrants who have been in Britain for more than four years should be given a two year work permit without access to benefits.

Then, at the end of the two years, they would be given indefinite leave to remain, subject to criteria such as an English test, criminal checks and employer references.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, who held a multilingual mass at Westminster Cathedral beforehand, told the rally that immigrants deserved to be treated with "fairness, with justice and with dignity". Amnesty demanded for 500,000 immigrants

Mark Alexander

”United We Must Always Remain”, says Queen

Photo of The Queen and President Bush at the White House State Banquet courtesy of the BBC

"Administrations in your country and governments in mine may come and go, but talk we will, listen we have to, disagree from time to time we may, but united we must always remain” – The Queen

BBC: The Queen has delivered a strong defence of the special relationship between Britain and the US.

At a White House banquet, she said "the lesson of my lifetime" had been that the partnership "was always to be reckoned with" in defending freedom.

WATCH BBC VIDEO: Bush welcomes Queen in US

Queen praises UK-US partnership

Mark Alexander

Sarkozy est arrivé à Malte avec son épouse, Cécilia

Photo de Sarkozy et son épouse, Cécilia, grâce à Google Images

LE FIGARO: Le futur hôte de l’Elysée est arrivé en début d’après-midi sur l’ile méditerranéenne a annoncé la télévision maltaise.

Fin du suspense! On connaît désormais le lieu où le nouveau chef de l’Etat passera quelques jours avant la passation des pouvoirs avec Jacques Chirac prévue vers le 17 mai. Nicolas Sarkozy est arrivé lundi en début d'après-midi à Malte à bord d'un avion privé, a annoncé la télévision maltaise. L'information a été confirmé un peu plus tard par une source policière française. Le président Sarkozy est à Malte (encore)

LE FIGARO: Pourquoi Sarkozy a choisi Malte

Mark Alexander

The Excesses of Lord John Browne and Why Your Petrol Costs So Much!

Photo of Lord John Browne courtesy of Google Images

THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: At the time it all seemed too much - too plainly far-fetched - for Jeff Chevalier to take in. But here he was, a 25-year-old once-penniless Canadian male prostitute, sitting down to dinner with the Prime Minister of Great Britain.

And the two men were liberally helping themselves from a £3,000 bottle of claret.

The wine was the personal choice of Lord Browne of Madingley - the boss of British Petroleum, Britain's most senior businessman and host of the dinner party in question.

"Mr Blair didn't know what it was but he absolutely loved it," Mr Chevalier recalls. "It was a 1983 French claret."

Lord Browne had originally met Mr Chevalier through a male escort agency; now the pair were partners.

The tycoon had installed the young Canadian in his £5million Chelsea apartment and was showing him off to the cream of London society.

The cosy dinner for Tony Blair in the summer of 2005 came amid a seemingly endless merry-go-round of dinners, lunches, soirees and parties that Mr Chevalier was summoned to by his tycoon lover, 34 years his senior.

He was flaunted before business and political contacts, diplomats and artists; there were holidays in private compounds in Barbados and opera in Salzburg and Venice (enjoyed alongside Prince and Princess Michael of Kent in their private box).

In Venice, Mr Chevalier would find himself chinking glasses with Elton John and Jude Law.

Travel would routinely be by private jet - which the businessman appeared to regard as a private plaything.

Today [May 6, 2007], in an exclusive interview in The Mail on Sunday, Jeff Chevalier gives a stunning account of the extravagance of life at the top of BP. The true story about Lord Browne – by ex-rent boy lover (Read on) By Dennis Rice

Mark Alexander

Bush Honours Queen

Photo of the Queen courtesy of Google Images

BBC: The Queen was honoured with a 21-gun salute as she met President George W Bush in Washington DC on the final leg of her US visit.

Standing outside the White House, the Queen said Britain and America had a "close and enduring" friendship.

The president said the Queen was "a good person, a strong leader and a great ally".

Later the Queen will be guest of honour at a state banquet and will visit the Children's National Medical Centre.

The state visit has included trips to the site of the first permanent English settlement in the US and the famous Kentucky Derby horse race. Bush honours Queen at White House (Read on)

WATCH BBC VIDEO: Washington welcomes Queen

Mark Alexander

The Queen and Her Rôle

Photo of the Queen in Jamestown courtesy of the BBC

NEWSWEEK: Though much of Elizabeth's role is symbolic, she also subtly wields a personal, but very real, power.

May 7, 2007 issue - On Feb. 6, 1952, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was distraught when he heard King George VI had died. His secretary, John Colville, tried to console him by assuring him he would get on well with the new queen, Elizabeth II: "But all he could say was that he didn't know her, and that she was only a child." She was 25 at the time. A year later, a royal aide confided that Churchill was so fond of her he could "scarcely speak of her without tears coming into his eyes." The Royal Consigliere (Read on) By Julia Baird (Newsweek)

Mark Alexander

Wolfowitz’s Aide Steps Down

Photo of Wofowitz courtesy of Google Images

BBC: A senior aide to embattled World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz has announced his resignation.

Kevin Kellems said an ongoing scandal surrounding his boss made it difficult for him to remain effective in his role at the Washington-based institution. Senior Wolfowitz aide steps down (Read on)

Mark Alexander

Merkel renews criticism of EU constitution's draft text for ignoring the importance of Christianity in Europe

Photo of Angela Merkel courtesy of Google Images

TURKISH DAILY NEWS: Germany's conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel, who launched plans last week to revive the European Union constitution as the now 27-nation bloc's term presidency, has renewed her criticism of the draft text for not referring to the importance of Christianity in Europe.

“I would have preferred a clearer acknowledgement of [Europe's] Christian roots,” Merkel was quoted on Saturday as saying in a preview of an interview with German Focus magazine. Merkel: EU charter should have more on Christianity

Mark Alexander