Les espoirs secrets 
de la jeunesse saoudienne
Ahmed al-Omran, créateur de « Saudi jeans »,l'un des blogs les plus lus, revendique le port du jean et rêve de parfaire sa formation de pharmacien aux États-Unis : « Beaucoup de jeunes Saoudiens sont dans mon cas. Ils ont envie d'aller à l'étranger pour vivre un moment une vie de garçon ou de fille normaux. » Photo grâce au Figaro

LE FIGARO: Élevés dans une société aux règles figées, les jeunes adultes s'évadent grâce aux sitcoms et aux sites Internet de socialisation.

«Les jeunes se reconnaissent dans les personnages parce qu'ils parlent comme eux, explique Nayef. Certaines répliques sont difficiles à comprendre pour les moins de 40 ans» Une petite révolution dans une société compassée, gouvernée par des règles religieuses et patriarcales souvent étouffantes pour les adolescents et les jeunes adultes. Certes, les lignes rouges ne sont pas bien loin. La séquence la plus audacieuse met en scène un apprenti docteur obligé de se cacher sous un lit dans une salle de repos strictement réservée aux étudiantes. Il s'y était rendu pour faire réchauffer un plat au micro-ondes et a été surpris par l'entrée inopinée d'une jeune fille. Pas le moindre flirt en vue. Il y a pourtant une histoire d'amour, mais platonique.

«Mon personnage est amoureux d'une étudiante, mais n'ose jamais le lui avouer, et elle se marie avec un autre», explique Fayez.

Ciné-club informel

37 Degrés se permet toutefois quelques critiques de la société, comme ces scènes où les personnages pensent tout haut, pestant parfois contre le conformisme des aînés. Nayef y est pour beaucoup : c'est aussi lui l'auteur des scénarios. À 24 ans, ce surdoué, fils d'un attaché militaire et d'une éducatrice, vient de terminer ses études de médecine, dans la vraie vie cette fois. Il envisage de poursuivre une spécialité médicale aux États-Unis. Sans abandonner sa passion pour le cinéma.

Nayef tourne aussi des films plus personnels avec une petite caméra, dont les thèmes tournent autour du paradoxe du comédien. Il les présente au Festival des Émirats arabes unis, tout comme sa bande de co­pains, regroupés autour d'un ciné-club informel. Il trouve ses modèles dans un Who's Who mondialisé : «Comme acteur, Daniel Day-Lewis. Comme scénariste, mais pas comme metteur en scène, Pedro Almodovar. Comme metteur en scène, Akira Kurosawa.»

Des références bien éloignées des insolences prudentes de 37 Degrés. Dans la réalité, nombre de Saoudiens de moins de 25 ans secouent les normes sociales. Un phénomène qui ne reste pas cantonné aux rejetons des grandes familles commerçantes nomadisant entre Djedda, Londres et New York. Il commence à toucher les enfants d'une classe moyenne émergente, dont les parents sont professeurs ou cadres du pétrole. Accros à Internet et au portable, rêvant d'ailleurs et de liberté. Attachés à la religion - personne ici ne se dit ouvertement athée - et tentés par la modernité. >>> Par Pierre Prier, envoyé spécial du Figaro à Riyad | Jeudi 07 Mai 2009

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Dismisses Obama Speech
YAHOO! NEWS: CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood dismissed Saturday U.S. President Barack Obama's plan to deliver a speech to the Muslim world from Egypt as part of a plan to keep Arab and Muslim states divided.

Deputy leader Mohamed Habib said overtures by the United States to countries like Syria and Iran, and recent visits by U.S. officials to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, indicated the speech would be used to further the superpower's pro-Israeli agenda.

"The U.S. administration is trying to use each of these countries individually to serve the American agenda and American interests, in addition to securing, promoting, protecting and guaranteeing the superiority of the Zionist entity (Israel)," Habib told Reuters.

The Brotherhood is Egypt's largest and most powerful opposition group, and seeks an Islamic state through democratic means. It disavowed violence decades ago and is officially banned, but operates relatively openly. >>> Reporting by Aziz El-Kaissouni; editing by Robert Woodward | Saturday, May 9, 2009

Papst Benedikt XVI.: Irak muss Leben der Christen schützen
DIE PRESSE: Papst Benedikt XVI. forderte die politischen und religiösen Führer im Irak auf, das "grundlegende Recht auf friedliche Koexistenz" der Christen zu garantieren. Bei seinem Moschee-Besuch verzichtete er auf ein Gebet.

Zum Schutz der christlichen Minderheit im Irak hat Papst Benedikt XVI. die internationale Staatengemeinschaft aufgerufen. Politische und religiöse Führer müssten alles tun, um der christlichen Gemeinschaft des Zweistromlandes das "grundlegende Recht auf friedliche Koexistenz" zu garantieren, sagte der Papst am Samstag bei einer Begegnung mit dem Diplomatischen Corps, hohen islamischen Klerikern und den Rektoren der jordanischen Universitäten vor der Grabmoschee König Husseins in Amman. Eigens begrüßte er den in Bagdad residierenden chaldäisch-katholischen Patriarchen, Kardinal Emmanuel III. Delly. 



Der Papst dankte dem jordanischen Staat für die Aufnahme irakischer Kriegsflüchtlinge. Die Anstrengungen der Weltgemeinschaft und der Regierungen in der Region für Frieden und Versöhnung müssten weitergehen, so Benedikt XVI. >>> Ag | Samstag, 9. Mai 2009

Anti-Islam-Kongress: Tausende protestieren in Köln
DIE PRESSE: Der zweite "Anti-Islamierungskongress" in Köln sei "dreist" und "anmaßend", sagt Kölns Oberbürgermeister Schramma: "Da ist die Tür. Wir wollen euch nicht. Wir stellen uns quer."

Tausende Demonstranten haben am Samstag in Köln gegen den zweiten "Anti-Islamisierungskongress" der rechtspopulistischen Bewegungen "Pro Köln" und "Pro NRW" protestiert. Oberbürgermeister Fritz Schramma (CDU) sagte bei einer Kundgebung auf dem Kölner Heumarkt laut im Voraus verbreitetem Redetext, die Rechtsradikalen aus ganz Europa hätten wohl vergessen, was man ihnen bereits im September beim vorangegangenen Kongress zugerufen habe: "Da ist die Tür. Wir wollen euch nicht. Wir stellen uns quer."

Der Oberbürgermeister fügte hinzu: "Es war schon im letzten Jahr eine Anmaßung und Dreistigkeit, ausgerechnet hier in Köln, in der Stadt der Toleranz und der Vielfalt, mit rassistischen Parolen auflaufen zu wollen." Das Grundgesetz gebe vor, dass man solche Leute und Anschauungen ertragen müsse: "Unser Grundgesetz gibt uns aber nicht nur das Recht, sondern auch die Pflicht, da aufzustehen, wo die Rechte von Minderheiten infrage gestellt werden und Intoleranz propagiert wird." >>> Ag | Samstag, 9. Mai 2009

Obama verlängert Sanktionen gegen Syrien
DIE PRESSE: Syrien ist für US-Präsident Barack Obama ein Staat, der Terrorismus unterstützt. Daher verlängert Obama die diplomatischen und wirtschaftlichen Sanktionen gegen Damaskus. Zwar habe Syrien viel positives gesagt, es fehlen aber Taten.

US-Präsident Barack Obama sieht in Syrien weiterhin einen Staat, der Terrorismus unterstützt und hat daher die diplomatischen und wirtschaftlichen Sanktionen gegen Damaskus verlängert. Das teilte Obama am Freitag in einem Brief an den US- Kongress mit. >>> Ag | Samstag, 9. Mai 2009

Pakistan erklärt den Taliban den Krieg: Washington versucht den zaudernden Verbündeten in die Pflicht zu nehmen
NZZ am Sonntag: Präsident Obama macht Hilfe an Pakistan vom Vorgehen gegen die Taliban abhängig. Die Regierung Zardari scheint die Drohung verstanden zu haben und hat eine Offensive gegen die Islamisten gestartet.

Laut Barack Obama war das Treffen mit Asif Ali Zardari und Hamid Karzai diese Woche in Washington «ausserordentlich konstruktiv». Man sei sich einig in dem Ziel, die Taliban zu besiegen, stellte der amerikanische Präsident fest. Der Zweckoptimismus konnte nicht darüber hinwegtäuschen, dass der pakistanische wie auch der afghanische Präsident schwache politische Figuren sind und die islamistischen Extremisten in ihren Ländern stark an Einfluss gewonnen haben.

Nach seiner Amtsübernahme im Januar hatte Obama verkündet, künftig das Augenmerk mehr auf Pakistan zu richten, weil der Krieg in Afghanistan nur gewonnen werden könne, wenn die Taliban im Nachbarland keinen Unterschlupf mehr fänden. Unter Obamas Vorgänger Bush hat Pakistan seit 2001 jährlich über eine Milliarde Dollar Hilfe erhalten, ohne dass sich diese ausbezahlt hätte. Die Armee bekämpfte die Extremisten im Grenzgebiet nur halbherzig, die Regierung schloss umstrittene Friedensabkommen mit diesen. >>> Andrea Spalinger, Delhi | Sonntag, 10. Mai 2009

Papst bedauert Spannungen zwischen den Religionen: Benedikt XVI. wirbt in Amman für Dialog von Christen und Muslimen
NZZ Online: Papst Benedikt XVI. hat Christen und Muslime zur Überwindung ihrer Spannungen aufgerufen. Bei seinem Besuch der Al-Hussein-bin-Talal-Moschee räumte das Oberhaupt der katholischen Kirche bestehende Spaltungen zwischen «Mitgliedern der verschiedenen religiösen Traditionen» ein.

Der Papst und Prinz Ghasi in der Moschee in der Hauptstadt Amman. Bild dank der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung
Papst Benedikt XVI. hat Christen und Muslime zur Überwindung ihrer Spannungen aufgerufen. Beide Religionsgemeinschaften sollten sich auf gemeinsamen Wurzeln und Werte besinnen, sagte er während eines Besuchs der grössten jordanischen Moschee in Amman.

Bei seinem Besuch der Al-Hussein-bin-Talal-Moschee räumte das Oberhaupt der katholischen Kirche bestehende Spaltungen zwischen «Mitgliedern der verschiedenen religiösen Traditionen» ein. Zusätzlich geschürt würden diese oftmals durch «ideologische Manipulation», um zu politischen Zwecken Gewalt zu provozieren.

Doch sei es falsch, die Religion grundsätzlich als «Ursache der Spaltung unserer Welt» anzusehen, sagte Benedikt XVI. weiter. Gerade aufgrund der Last ihrer gemeinsamen Geschichte, die so oft von «Unverständnis» geprägt gewesen sei, sollten sich Muslime und Christen «ihres gemeinsamen Ursprungs und der Würde aller Menschen» bewusst sein. >>> sda/afp/Reuters/dpa | Samstag, 9. Mai 2009

Two Years On – Bruni, Bling and Barricades
THE GUARDIAN: Nicolas Sarkozy took office in May 2007 promising to transform France and restore its status as a great nation. Brash, confident and now married to one of the most glamorous woman [sic] in Europe, his presidency has not lacked drama. But approval ratings have plummeted, unemployment is rising and public sector workers are in revolt. Has Sarko really delivered?

French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and his model-turned-singer girlfriend Carla Bruni. Photo courtesy of The Guardian
A strange and somewhat surreal party took place last week on the Champs Elysées, on the pavement outside Le Fouquet's restaurant. Dressed in overcoats to ward off the unseasonal cold, the guests whistled loudly, held aloft a two-tier cake and sang a deliberately discordant rendition of "joyeux anniversaire".

Fond as he is of events held in his honour, Nicolas Sarkozy would not have enjoyed this one. The placards gave it away, particularly the one that read: "Sarkozy: a pandemic all by himself".

President Sarkozy has chosen not to mark the second anniversary of his arrival at the Elysée Palace. And it is not hard to see why. His approval ratings, once riding high at more than 60%, have slumped to the low 30s. One poll released last week suggested that 63% of the population were disappointed with his first 24 months. The number of people who approve of his social policies stands at a dismal 36%.

The political facts on the ground are incontestable: the rapidly rising unemployment rate reached 8.6% in February and among the young the figure is a demoralising 21%; public sector strikes are commonplace and millions have turned out in recent months to protest against the government.

Each week a new constituency makes its grievances known: last week it was prisons, the week before hospitals. Universities have been paralysed for months by the biggest strike action in the history of the French Academy.

Then there are the private sector workers who, faced with mass job cuts and meagre redundancy payouts, kidnap their bosses in the hope of a better deal. "Bossnapping" may yet come to be recognised as the signature protest of the Sarkozy years. >>> Lizzy Davies in Paris | Sunday, May 10, 2009

Trapped by Taliban Terror
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Innocent families are hemmed in as the army tries to crush the hardline Islamic militants fighting for control of north-west Pakistan

A Taliban militant smiles as he holds his weapon outside the mosque where tribal elders and the Taliban met in Daggar, Buner's main town, Pakistan, Thursday, April 23, 2009. Photo courtesy of The Sunday Times
FIERCE fighting engulfed the once serene mountain resort of Swat yesterday, with thousands of civilians trapped as the Pakistani army launched an all-out offensive against the Taliban.

In Swat’s main town of Mingora, now controlled by the Taliban, residents described a scene of terror. Taliban positions were heavily shelled, food and water were running low and electricity and most telephone lines had been cut.

Some described how they were left cowering inside their homes, praying for survival as fighter jets screeched overhead. An army curfew and Taliban threats prevented them fleeing.

The army said it had killed 55 more Taliban fighters in Swat yesterday, bringing the total to more than 200 since the operation began. Hundreds of civilians were feared dead. The provincial government, claiming that hundreds of thousands more were flooding down from the mountains in search of safety, said it could not cope. >>> Christina Lamb and Daud Pakistan Khattak in Batkhela, Swat Valley | Sunday, May 10, 2009

Israel Fears Jewish Attack on ‘Hitler Youth’ Pope
THE SUNDAY TIMES: THE Pope will be given unprecedented security when he arrives in Israel tomorrow because of fears that his brief enrolment in the Hitler Youth as a boy of 14 could trigger an assassination attempt by Jewish zealots.

The Israeli government has ordered Shin Bet, the domestic security service, to take command of the visit. Four Audi armoured cars have been imported from Germany and security chiefs have banned the use of the familiar glass-sided “Popemobile” except for a short journey in Nazareth.

In Jordan yesterday, on the first stage of his middle eastern tour, the pontiff held a meeting with Muslim leaders to express “deep respect” for Islam. He offended Muslims in a speech in 2006 in which he quoted a Medieval scholar who linked Islam to violence.

In Israel Benedict XVI’s German nationality, his service in Hitler’s army, his support for the proposed beatification of Pius XII – known in Israel as the “Nazi pope” – and his decision to revoke the excommunication of Richard Williamson, the British bishop and Holocaust denier, have all sparked anger. The Pope was forced to apologise for mishandling the Williamson affair.

General Giora Eiland, the former head of Israel’s national security council, reflected the views of many Israelis. “It would have been better if the visit wasn’t taking place,” he said. “The Pope’s service in the Wehrmacht is a stain.” >>> Uzi Mahnaimi, Tel Aviv | Sunday, May 10, 2009

Dmitry Medvedev at Moscow Missile Parade: 'Russia Will Teach Aggressors a Lesson'
TIMES ONLINE: Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president, has warned at a military parade in Red Square that Moscow will teach foreign aggressors the "lessons" of the Second World War.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev taking part at a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of Unknown Soldier outside the Moscow Kremlin. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
Nuclear missile launchers and battle tanks were driven through the centre of Moscow, while air force bombers flew above the city's skyline, as Russia celebrated victory over Nazi Germany 64 years ago. Mr Medvedev ordered the Soviet-style parade of might to remind the world that Russia remained a powerful military force.

With Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, standing beside him, Mr Medvedev told thousands of troops drawn up on the cobbles of Red Square that Russia still faced external threats to its security.

"The victory over fascism is a great example and a great lesson for all people and is still current today when people are again starting military adventures," he said.

The president's comments seemed to be primarily directed at Georgia, with which Russia fought a five-day war last year, but could also be a coded warning to the United States, some observers said. Washington is planning to build a missile defence shield in central Europe, a project that has been repeatedly condemned in Moscow.

Mr Medvedev said that foreign designs against Russia would meet the same response it gave the Nazis during the War.

"We are sure that any aggression against our citizens will be given a worthy reply," he said.

The parade was the biggest show of force since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Last year, under an initiative from Mr Putin, tanks and intercontinental ballistic missiles reappeared in Red Square after a 17-year hiatus as part of a drive to show off Russia's military resurgence. >>> By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow | Saturday, May 9, 2009

Barack Obama's Rich Supporters Fear His Tax Plans Show He's a Class Warrior
THE TELEGRAPH: Some of Barack Obama's richest supporters fear they have elected a "class warrior" to the White House, who will turn America's freewheeling capitalism into a more regulated European system.

Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Wealthy Wall Street financiers and other business figures provided crucial support for Mr Obama during the election, backing him over the Republican candidate John McCain as the right leader to rescue the collapsing US economy.

But it is now dawning on many among them that Mr Obama was serious about his campaign trail promises to bring root and branch reform to corporate America - and that they were more than just election rhetoric.

A top Obama fundraiser and hedge fund manager said: "I'm appalled at the anti-Wall Street rhetoric. It was OK on the campaign but now it's the real world. I'm surprised that Obama is turning out to be so left-wing. He's a real class warrior."

Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute, a free enterprise think tank, said Democrats in Congress were unnerved by the president's latest plan to raise $210 billion over 10 years from multinational corporations.

The money is needed to pay for a national debt that will double over the next five years; and triple over the next 10 years to $17.3 trillion. But the crackdown already faces fierce Democratic resistance.

"These big companies are based in New York Boston, Seattle and Silicon Valley, where Democrats dominate," Mr Edwards said. "Obama's tax plan is already cleaving him from his big corporate supporters," he said.

Mr Obama made no secret of his plans to raise taxes on the "working rich" (individuals earning more than $200,000) by imposing a top income tax rate of almost 40 per cent, and there is little surprise that those plans remain on track, even during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

But Democratic opposition is building in Congress to many of the President's proposals. A plan to reduce tax deductions for charitable gifts by richer people may have to be scrapped, because the charitable sector - which includes hospitals, museums and voluntary service groups - depends heavily on tax-deducted donations.

Charles Rangel, the New York chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, which drafts tax legislation, raised a red flag about the proposal last week. "I would never want to adversely affect anything that is charitable or good," he said.

Mr Obama also wants to "cap and trade" carbon emissions - seen by business as effectively yet another tax - to tackle global warming.

The president's plans are direct repudiation of the model of light touch regulation credited with creating economic growth and wealth in America in recent decades. >>> By Leonard Doyle in Washington | Saturday, May 9, 2009

Pope Calls for Cooperation between Christians and Muslims
Pope Benedict XVI waves to the crowds upon his arrival to say Mass at the Lady of Peace Church in Amman, Jordan. Benedict underlined his "deep respect" for Islam. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Pope Benedict XVI, speaking at a mosque in Amman, Jordan, also expresses concern about the discrimination that he says Christians and others face in Islamic nations such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Reporting from Amman, Jordan -- Pope Benedict XVI today called on Christians and Muslims to serve mankind with the "light of God's truth" while warning that extremists in nations such as Iraq were exploiting religious differences for political and violent agendas.

Speaking at the Hussein bin Talal Mosque, the pontiff, whose three-day pilgrimage to Jordan is an attempt to mend relations with the Muslim world, said the "tensions and divisions between the followers of different religious traditions, sadly, cannot be denied. However, is it not also the case that often it is the ideological manipulation of religion, sometimes for political ends, that is the real catalyst for tension and division, and at times even violence in society?"

The speech before Catholic priests, Muslim clerics and Orthodox bishops was brief, but the copper-domed mosque offered a symbolic setting for the 82-year-old pope to damp criticism of his comments in 2006 that characterized Islam as a violent religion. Benedict has said he regretted the outrage he caused and made an effort at reconciliation two months later when he prayed silently with imams in the Blue Mosque in Turkey.

Many Muslim leaders in the Arab world feel the pope's contrition has not been genuine. They also say he has not spoken forcefully enough in behalf of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and has apologized to Jews for the Roman Catholic Church's past mistakes but has not done the same for historical injustices against Muslims.

That debate will probably intensify in the coming week, when Benedict leaves Jordan on Monday for Israel and the West Bank. Before his speech at the Hussein mosque, the pope visited Mt. Nebo, where Moses is believes to have been buried, to reassure Jews that the Vatican wants to "overcome all obstacles to the reconciliation of Christians and Jews in mutual respect and cooperation in the service of that peace to which the word of God calls us.">>> By Jeffrey Fleishman | Saturday, May 9, 2009

Giordania, il Papa nella moschea 
"Religione corrotta se serva della violenza"
LA REPUBBLICA.it: Benedetto XVI si raccoglie per la seconda volta un luogo di culto musulmano / 
Una preghiera anche sul monte Nebo dove Mosè indicò al popolo di Israele la "terra promessa"

AMMAN - Benedetto XVI porge la mano all'islam e sottolinea che "la religione costretta a servire l'ignoranza e il pregiudizio, è una religione corrotta". Il Papa visita i luoghi del Vecchio Testamento, il monte Nebo dove Mosè indicò al popolo di Israele la "terra promessa"; benedice la prima pietra della futura università cattolica in Giordania e sosta in raccoglimento nella moschea Al Hussein di Amman. Predica "un'alleanza di civiltà con il mondo musulmano" e rimarca che "la religione viene sfigurata quando viene costretta a servire il disprezzo, la violenza e l'abuso". Chiaro l'ammonimento del Pontefice: "Spesso è la manipolazione ideologica della religione, talvolta per scopi politici, il catalizzatore reale delle tensioni e delle divisioni e non di rado anche delle violenze nella società". >>> Sabato 9 maggio 2009

Benedicto XVI tiende la mano del diálogo a los judíos en el Monte Nebo
EL PAÍS: El pontífice anima desde este emplazamiento bíblico a "superar los obstáculos que se interponen en la reconciliación entre los hebreos y los cristianos"

El Papa ha tendido hoy la mano del diálogo a los judíos en el Monte Nebo, en el oeste de Jordania, donde ha expresado sus deseos de "superar los obstáculos que se interponen en la reconciliación entre los hebreos y los cristianos". En esta segunda jornada del Papa en Jordania, el Papa ha repetido la misma visita que Juan Pablo II hizo al Monte Nebo, el lugar desde el cual Moisés contempló la Tierra Prometida por Dios. >>> Agencias – Monte Nebro (Jordania) | Sábado 9 de mayo de 2009

¡Buenas noticias! El 'Euromillones' deja en España su mayor premio para un único acertante
EL PAÍS: Un billete validado en la ciudad de Madrid, premiado con 126 millones de euros

Un cupón del sorteo del Euromillones validado en Madrid le dará a su dueño más de 126 millones de euros, el mayor premio de la historia de la lotería europea para una única persona. Este único acertante de primera categoría -cinco números y dos estrellas- adquirió su boleto para el sorteo de esta pasada noche en la Administración de Loterías número 25 de Madrid, situada en el número 39 de la calle Alcalá.

El premio, de 126.231.764 euros, según ha informado Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, supone el de mayor cuantía cobrado por una única persona desde el nacimiento del sorteo en febrero de 2004. >>> Agencias - Madrid | Sábado 9 de mayo de 2009

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: «Le chat noir» a porté chance au plus gros gagnant à l'Euro Millions

ESPAGNE | L'Espagnol qui a gagné, lors du tirage d'hier soir, 126 millions d'euros a validé son billet dans le bureau de loterie nommé «Le chat noir» situé dans une grande rue du centre de Madrid.

Le plus gros gagnant de l’histoire de l’Euro Millions avec un gain de 126 millions d’euros est pour l’heure anonyme mais a validé son billet dans le bureau de loterie "le chat noir" d’une grande rue du centre de Madrid, a-t-on appris samedi auprès de sa propriétaire. >>> AFP | Samedi 09 Mai 2009

THE GUARDIAN: Lottery Officials Continue Search for Owner of £110m Ticket

Madrid shop sold ticket for biggest single lottery prize / EuroMillions winner may be tourist, says seller

Lottery officials across Europe were searching today for one of the continent's richest people, who may still be unaware that they possess a lottery ticket worth £110m.

The EuroMillions jackpot is the world's biggest ever single lottery prize, but the Madrid lottery shop that sold the ticket has so far been unable to trace the buyer. If found, he or she would shoot into the club of the richest people in Europe. If the winner were British, it would mean joining the Sunday Times rich list at No 492 — tied with the Bee Gees brothers Barry and Robin Gibb.

A sign pinned to the window of the Black Cat lottery shop, just off Madrid's central Plaza de Cibeles, boasted today that this was the place where the €126m ticket had been sold.

The shop's owner, Paloma Cateleiro, said that she had no idea who had bought the ticket but suspected the chit might be lying at the bottom of a tourist's suitcase in some part of Europe.

"A lot of people come though here," she said. "We might never find out who has won it."

She said that the winner had put down €10 in the game, which let them make five different predictions of a combination of numbers that could land the jackpot.

"It could have gone to a tourist or to someone from outside Madrid, as we are right in the centre," said Ana Maria Rincón, one of the Black Cat's lottery sellers.

The huge jackpot built up after the weekly draw was rolled over six times, with no winner since 20 March. >>> Giles Tremlett in Madrid | Sunday, May 10, 2009

TIMESONLINE: £110m Winner of EuroMillions Jackpot Was Ill in Bed with Flu

Europe’s biggest lottery winner is a 25-year-old Spanish woman who was in fear of losing her job and was unaware of her £110 million jackpot because she was struck down with the flu.

The woman, from Majorca, only discovered she had become a multi-millionaire when she returned to work on Monday. She is unmarried but has a boyfriend and bought the ticket through the commercial betting website Serviapuestas.

The winner went back to work after fearing she might lose her job because of the recession, only to turn on her phone and be told she had won the jackpot. The ticket was later validated at the Black Cat kiosk in the centre of Madrid.

Jose Mieres, director of the Serviapuestas website, said they had been trying to contact the young woman since last Friday´s draw. But she did not answer her phone over the weekend and she was not replying to their e-mails.

She told Mr Mieres: “I still had flu on Monday, but with the situation of crisis we are going through, I decided I had to go to work anyway, out of fear of losing my job.” >>> Graham Keeley in Madrid | Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Voyage en Jordanie: Au Mont Nebo, Benoît XVI veut réconcilier chrétiens et juifs
L’EXPRESS.fr: A l'endroit où, selon les écritures, Dieu a montré la Terre promise à Moïse, le Pape Benoît XVI a rappelé samedi 9 mai "le lien inséparable" qui unit l'Eglise et le peuple juif. Le voyage papal se poursuit en Jordanie.

Le pape Benoît XVI a appelé samedi à la "réconciliation" entre chrétiens et juifs lors d'un déplacement au Mont Nebo, le lieu où, selon les écritures, Dieu a montré à Moïse la Terre promise.

Le pape s'est rendu sur cette montagne de 840 mètres à 40 km au sud-ouest d'Amman, au deuxième jour de sa visite en Jordanie, dans le cadre de son premier séjour dans un pays arabe.

Benoît XVI, qui veut faire de son voyage d'une semaine au Proche-Orient un pèlerinage pour la paix, s'est lui-même présenté en pèlerin.

"Ici, sur les pas des innombrables pèlerins qui nous ont précédés au cours des siècles, nous sommes provoqués à mesurer plus pleinement le don de notre foi et à grandir dans cette communion qui transcende toute frontière de langue, de race et de culture", a-t-il dit. >>> Par LEXPRESS.fr avec AFP | Samedi 09 Mai 2009

Taliban Vow to 'Eliminate' Pakistan's Top Leadership
Students from Swat Valley chant slogans during a rally against the ongoing military operation in the valley in Pakistan. Photo courtesy of The Times of India
THE TIMES OF INDIA: ISLAMABAD: Angered by Pakistan government's decision to launch an all out war against them, the Taliban has vowed to "eliminate" country's top leadership including President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and their close family members.

"We thought that being a member of a religious family, Gilani will support our demand of implementing Sharia in the Malakand division but instead he has announced an all-out war against us, which has angered our commanders as well as fighters," an unnamed Taliban commander told The News daily.

The militant commander, who spoke to the newspaper by phone, said after Gilani declared during an address to the nation on Thursday that the Taliban would be wiped out from the Swat Valley and adjoining areas, the militants had started planning to "eliminate the top leaders of the ruling alliance, including President, Prime Minister and their close family members and aides". >>> | Saturday, May 9, 2009

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