Strong Protests Continue in France

Photo courtesy of The Boston Globe

THE BOSTON GLOBE: PARIS -- French police arrested more than 100 demonstrators and hundreds of students went on strike at a Paris university as left-wing protests against president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy continued for a fourth night yesterday.

Some 300 to 400 demonstrators gathered on the Boulevard St - Michel in the Latin Quarter of Paris, ostensibly to protest against a march by far-right supporters.

Shouting slogans like "Sarko fascist! The people will have your hide!" and "Police everywhere, justice nowhere!", the demonstrators were cornered by hundreds of police close to the nearby Luxembourg Gardens.

A police officer at the scene said 118 arrests had been made by 9.30 p.m. Anti-Sarkozy protests escalate, students strike: 118 demonstrators arrested in Paris (more)

Mark Alexander

Kuwait Prepared for Any US-Iran Conflict
KUWAIT: The government yesterday briefed the National Assembly's foreign relations committee of its preparations for a possible US-Iran military confrontation, but politicians played down such a possibility. The meeting was attended by ministers in the government emergency team, headed by Interior and Defense Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah and several MPs. Each minister explained to the committee the preparations they have taken in case a war breaks out between the United States and Iran over its nuclear programme. Kuwait prepared for any US-Iran war(more) By B Izzak

Mark Alexander

US-UK ‘Ally’ in Gulf, Kuwait, Demonstrates Its Commitment to Freedom of Expression!
KUWAIT TIMES: KUWAIT: All newspapers, magazines, publishing houses and printing presses in Kuwait were yesterday issued a list by the government of the types of articles, advertisements and banners that can no longer be printed or published without official approval. Government limits freedom of expression (more)

Mark Alexander

La nouvelle diplomatie de Sarkozy
LE FIGARO: Nicolas Sarkozy a suscité beaucoup d'attentes à l'étranger en annoncant une réorientation diplomatique. Les experts relativisent.

INQUIÉTUDE RUSSE, perplexité chinoise, craintes arabes, résignation turque et, à l'inverse, satisfaction américaine et empressement britannique : c'est peu dire que les orientations diplomatiques de Nicolas Sarkozy ont suscité dans le monde des réactions contrastées. Le décalage est net entre ces jugements portés à l'étranger, anticipant des évolutions de fond de la politique étrangère de la France, et l'analyse des experts parisiens qui, eux, sont plutôt portés à minimiser l'idée d'une « rupture » diplomatique. La nouvelle diplomatie de Sarkozy à l’épreuve (encore) Par Alain Barluet

Mark Alexander

’The Fat Lady Sings’ for Tony Blair
FINANCIAL TIMES: Tony Blair on Thursday marked the beginning of the end of his decade as Britain’s prime minister when he announced his intention to step down as prime minister on June 27, paving the way for a transfer of power to Gordon Brown, the chancellor of the exchequer.

Mr Blair’s long-awaited resignation plans, delivered to party activists in his Sedgefield constituency in north-east England, bring down the curtain on the longest-serving Labour prime minister, and the most dominant British political figure since Margaret Thatcher.

“Sometimes the only way you can conquer the pull of power is to set it down,” he said.

Mr Blair acknowledged that he had made mistakes and had provoked “grievances that fester”. Expectations of him were possibly too high when he won his first of three general election victories in 1997, he said.

But he is issued a powerful appeal to his critics to consider his achievements in the round and to accept that he took decision, including the decision to go to war in Iraq, in good faith. “I ask you to accept one thing: hand on heart, I did what I thought was right.”

Mr Blair summed up his legacy as leaving behind a Britain that is “comfortable in the 21st century, proud of its past, confident of its future”. Blair to step down as prime minister on June 27 (more) By Ben Hall

BBC: Tony Blair's time at the top

NZZ: Tony Blair tritt am 27. Juni zurück

NZZ: Blairs ungewisses Erbe: Der Erfinder von «New Labour» hat viel erreicht und manches versäumt

FAZ: Blair kündigt Rücktritt für Ende Juni an

WELTONLINE: Tony Blair meint, dass zehn Jahre genug sind

LE FIGARO: Blair tire sa reverence

LE MONDE: Tony Blair quittera Dowing Street le 27 juin

Mark Alexander

Pope on the Offensive in Brazil: Supporters of Abortion Have No Future in the Church
TIMESONLINE: A combative Pope Benedict XVI opened his trip to Brazil yesterday in no-holds-barred mood, vowing to stem the defections of Roman Catholics to evangelical Protestantism and giving a warning that the penalty for supporting abortion was excommunication.

In uncompromising remarks on “core teachings” on board the papal plane from Rome, the Pope backed the Church hierarchy in Mexico for excommunicating politicians who voted for a law that legalised abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy in Mexico City, as well as doctors and nurses who performed abortions.

“This is nothing new, it is normal, it wasn’t arbitrary,” he told reporters. “It is what is foreseen by the Church’s doctrine.” He had reiterated previously the Vatican’s opposition to abortion but had not specifically backed the excommunications.

The Pope also spoke strongly against abortion during his first speech in Brazil. Speaking in Portuguese, he said he was certain that the bishops will reinforce “the promotion of respect for life from the moment of conception until natural death” as an integral requirement of human nature. Supporters of abortion have no future in Church, Pope tells faithful (more)

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Pope Attacks Mexico City Politicians

Mark Alexander

Le gendre du vice-ministre de la Défense d’Arabie Saoudite condamné à 10 ans de prison en France
LE FIGARO: Il est accusé d’avoir importé en France deux tonnes de cocaïne.

Comme dans un scénario de film, l’énorme cargaison de drogue serait arrivée de nuit à l'aéroport du Bourget, dans les bagages d’un prince saoudien, à bord d'un Boeing 727 privé. Mais des repentis colombiens ont dénoncé le vaste trafic, faisant tomber le prince mais aussi plusieurs barons colombiens de la drogue.

Le prince saoudien Nayef Bin Fawaz al Chaalan, 53 ans, a donc été condamné mercredi à 10 ans de prison par le tribunal correctionnel de Bobigny pour sa participation en 1999 à ce trafic de cocaïne. Les neuf autres prévenus se sont vus infliger des peines allant de 4 à 10 ans de prison. Un prince saoudien condamné à 10 ans de prison (encore)

KUWAIT TIMES: Saudi prince gets 10-year sentence

Mark Alexander

”Blair’s friends”
BBC: They are just ships that pass in the night, one captain climbing into the lifeboat, looking back not at his almost mutinous crew but blowing kisses across to another vessel where a new man is at the helm. But Tony Blair's attitude towards the election of Nicolas Sarkozy is more than a gracious and diplomatic gesture. It is Mr Blair defining Blairism. Europe diary: Blair’s friends (more)

Mark Alexander

Tony Blair félicite Nicolas Sarkozy (en français)



Mark Alexander

PM congratulates Sarkozy on French election win



Mark Alexander

The Pope in Brazil

Photo of the Pope in Brazil courtesy of the BBC

BBC: Pope Benedict XVI has arrived in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo for a five-day visit to the world's most populous Roman Catholic nation.

It is his first visit to Latin America since becoming Pope in April 2005.

He is to perform a series of open air Masses before travelling to Aparecida for the focus of the visit, a major conference of Latin American bishops.

There he is expected to touch on the growing challenge the Catholic Church faces from evangelical groups.

Talking to journalists on the flight, the Pope said his main concern in the region was the loss of millions of disaffected Roman Catholics to evangelical churches. Pope arrives in Brazil for visit (more)

WATCH BBC VIDEO: Brazil’s [Roman] Catholic numbers down

Mark Alexander

Wenn man im Urlaub im Styl von Vincent Bolloré ist

Foto von Vincent Bolloré dank der Sueddeutsche Zeitung

SUEDDEUTSCHE ZEITNUNG: Im Fouquet’s brachte Vincent Bolloré den frisch gewählten Präsidenten auf die Idee. Ob der nicht ein paar Tage ausspannen wolle auf seiner Yacht im Mittelmeer? Sogar seinen Privatjet würde der Industrielle ihm zur Verfügung stellen, um nach Malta zu fliegen.

Nicolas Sarkozy hatte einen anstrengenden Wahlkampf hinter sich. Seit nicht einmal zwei Stunden war es geschafft, er hatte gewonnen und saß nun mit seinen Freunden abgeschirmt im Edelrestaurant an den Champs-Elysées: mit dem Selfmade-Milliardär Vincent Bolloré, mit seinem Trauzeugen und Baukönig Martin Bouygues und anderen illustren Persönlichkeiten aus der Pariser Geschäftswelt.

Es ist eine schöne Yacht, die ihm sein Freund Bolloré da anbot: 60 Meter lang, Whirlpool, Karaoke-Bar, sieben Kabinen, sehr stilvoll eingerichtet. Jedermann kann sie sich im Internet ansehen, die Paloma, und mieten kann man sie auch, für 173.000 Euro pro Woche, wohlgemerkt ohne Personal und Verpflegung. Porträt: Vincent Bolloré - der Gastgeber Sarkozys (mehr)

Yacht “Paloma”

Yacht “Paloma”: Interior

Yacht “Paloma”: Specifications

Mark Alexander

Esfandiari, an Iranian-American Academic, Held in Iran’s Notorious Evin Prison
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: CAIRO, Egypt: An Iranian-American academic who works at a Washington-based institute is being held in a notorious Iran prison after being prohibited from leaving the Mideast country for more than four months, the institute and her husband said Wednesday.

Haleh Esfandiari, the director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, was sent Tuesday to the Evin prison after she arrived at Iran's Intelligence Ministry for questioning, the center said in statement.

Iran has not confirmed that it is detaining Esfandiari, and officials in Tehran could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
"This is extremely disturbing news," said Esfandiari's husband, Shaul Bakhash, in a telephone interview from their home in Maryland. "I never expected they would jail a 67-year-old woman for no reason whatsoever." Iranian-American academic held in notorious Iran prison (more)

Mark Alexander

Gaza Terrorists Claim UN Converting Muslims to Christianity
YNET NEWS: Gaza terrorists claim UN 'converting our Muslims under the cover of an international organization'

A deadly attack Monday against a United Nations school in the Gaza Strip was carried by an Islamist extremist group, according to a statement faxed to WND which claimed the UN was targeted because the international body was "spreading Christian missionary activity."

"The UN is spreading Christian missionary. We will keep hitting them and trying to kill them. They are trying to convert our Muslims under the cover of an international organization," said the statement, signed by the group Jihadia Salafiya. UN attacked for spreading Christianity (more)

Mark Alexander

King Herod’s Tomb ‘Found’

Photo courtesy of the BBC

BBC: An Israeli archaeologist says he has found the tomb of King Herod, the ruler of Judea while it was under Roman administration in the first century BC.

After a search of more than 30 years, Ehud Netzer of the Hebrew University says he has located the tomb at Herodium, a site south of Jerusalem.

Herod was noted in the New Testament for his Massacre of the Innocents.

Told of Jesus' birth, Herod ordered all children under two in Bethlehem to be killed, the Gospel of Matthew said.

According to the New Testament, Jesus' father Joseph was warned of the threat in a dream and fled with his wife and child to Egypt. King Herod’s ancient tomb ‘found’ (more)

WATCH BBC VIDEO: King Herod’s tomb ‘found’

Mark Alexander

Paris veut que la Banque mondiale se prononce “rapidement” sur le sort de Wolfowitz
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: La France a souhaité aujourd'hui que le conseil d'administration de la Banque mondiale (BM) "se réunisse rapidement pour se prononcer" sur le sort de son président accusé de népotisme, Paul Wolfowitz.

Le maintien de l'Américain à la tête de la Banque mondiale semble plus que jamais compromis, le comité d'éthique de l'institution multilatérale ayant conclu dans un rapport que M. Wolfowitz n'avait pas respecté les règles."Nous souhaitons que le conseil d'administration se réunisse rapidement pour se prononcer sur la base de ce rapport et des observations que pourrait faire M. Wolfowitz", a déclaré à la presse le porte-parole du ministère des Affaires étrangères, Jean-Baptiste Mattéi. Wolfowitz: Paris veut que la Banque mondiale se prononce "rapidement" (encore)

Mark Alexander

Séjour de Sarkozy n’avait “pas couté un centime aux contribuables”

Photo grâce au Figaro

LE FIGARO: Depuis Malte, le président élu a réagi à la polémique qui sévit en France autour de son séjour, rappelant que ce dernier n'avait "pas coûté un centime aux contribuables".

Après deux jours d’effervescence, Nicolas Sarkozy est personnellement intervenu aujourd’hui sur la polémique au sujet de son séjour sur l’île de Malte. Une polémique qui n’a pas lieu d’être selon lui. Interrogé par Europe 1, interrompant un jogging, le nouveau chef de l’Etat a rappelé son droit à ces quelques jours de repos : ''La Constitution me donne ces quelques jours, j'ai voulu en profiter tranquillement. Et, vous savez, je sais que les Français sont des gens très lucides, qui raisonnent, et qui savent faire la part des choses entre la polémique politique, politicienne, et la réalité des choses'', a expliqué Nicolas Sarkozy avant d’ajouter : ''J'avais besoin de me retrouver avec ma famille, j'avais besoin de prendre du repos. Je rentre cet après-midi, demain matin je serai au bureau". Nicolas Sarkozy : "Je n’ai pas l’intention de m’excuser" (encore)

Mark Alexander

Flashing those legs could become illegal in Poland

Photo courtesy of Google Images

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: One Polish legislator has announced plans for a bill that would ban miniskirts and other "enticements" -- with the goal of reducing street prostitution. But the move is also part of a wider culture war.

A Polish lawmaker has called for a miniskirt ban as part of an overall crusade against the "enticement to sex" by women in public.

Artur Zawisza, a Catholic member of the breakaway "Right of the Republic" party (Prawica Rzeczypolpoliteij), wants to ban miniskirts as well as heavy makeup and see-through or low-cut blouses in a proposal he says is aimed at prostitutes. His initiative would rob Polish streetwalkers of a means of making a living, he says, according to Newsweek Polska. A Miniskirt Ban in Poland? (Read on)

Mark Alexander

The 'Master of Spin', the New 'Interfaith Ambassador', Finds His True Vocation: 'Spinning Them' about Islam
TIMESONLINE: Tony Blair intends to create a global foundation to foster “greater understanding” between the three “Abrahamic faiths” of Christianity, Judaism and Islam after he leaves Downing Street, The Times has learnt.

The Prime Minister, who tomorrow will announce his time-table for resignation, is expected to make the project the main focus of his energies when he leaves office this summer.

A member of his tight-knit inner-circle of advisers confirmed yesterday that Mr Blair is looking to “set up some sort of interfaith organisation”, saying: “He sees this as where the action is and nobody else is really doing it.” Blair aims to foster interfaith dialogue after leaving No 10 (Read on)

DAILY MAIL: Blair expected to say farewell in Sedgefield tomorrow

Mark Alexander

French Socialists Criticise Sarkozy for Holidaying on Bolloré’s Private Yacht
FINANCIAL TIMES: Nicolas Sarkozy has sailed into trouble by spending his post-presidential election holiday on a private yacht, belonging to one of France's richest men, off the coast of Malta in the Mediterranean.

Officials from the opposition Socialist party criticised the incoming president for taking a three-day break away from the spotlight on a 60-metre yacht owned by Vincent Bolloré, the billionaire corporate raider.

"What is a problem, is the style of this holiday, the fact that it is on the yacht of a rich businessman and we don't know today if it was the Republic that covered the expense of this trip," said François Hollande, leader of the Socialist party.

"We thought the Chirac presidency was over and it was what Mr Sarkozy doubtless called 'a rupture' but I see that it is more a question of continuity," he said, referring to outgoing president Jacques Chirac's penchant for luxury holidays. Sarkozy sails into storm over holiday on private yacht (Read on)

Mark Alexander