Age of the Iron Fist Is Over, Says Gadaffi Jr
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Saif al-Islam, the son of Colonel Gadaffi, said the time for 'military regimes, kings, crown princes' had passed

The 38-year-old Saif is widely seen as a potential successor to his father. Photo: The Sunday Times
The son of Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, who has ruled Libya with an iron fist for more than 40 years, has declared that the country no longer needs a “great leader”.

In an interview last week, Saif al-Islam Gadaffi said the time for “military regimes, kings, crown princes” had passed.

“The future is for managers — people will elect managers and not have kings or great leaders,” he said. “People should be free to elect their own leaders. The future is for democracy. There is no other way for Libya.”

The 38-year-old champion of reform, who is widely seen as a potential successor to his father, warned that his country could face “very serious trouble” if it failed to adopt a more liberal approach to relations with the West.

Dressed in a T-shirt, jeans and trainers, he strolled into the flower garden of a friend’s villa on the outskirts of Rome and said: “Hi, I’m Saif.”

Sitting beneath a wooden gazebo near a pool surrounded by palm and cedar trees, he outlined his vision of Libya as a tolerant, 21st-century state enriched by tourism.

“I would like to make Libya the Vienna of north Africa,” he said passionately, referring to his favourite European city. Luxury hotels were already being built, he added.

Gadaffi, who studied for his PhD at the London School of Economics, smiled as he claimed that tough visa restrictions for westerners would be abolished soon, starting with the British.

Measures had also been discussed to permit the sale of alcoholic drinks to foreigners in hotels, he said. “It will happen,” he added. “We will create the right environment for tourism in Libya. If you have no drink, no visa, no hotels, nobody will come.” Continue reading and comment >>> Sara Hashash and Hala Jaber | Sunday, June 27, 2010

Mecca to Outface Big Ben with World’s Largest Clock
THE SUNDAY TIMES: A new hotel in Mecca will be the world's second-tallest building and will feature the world's largest clock face

The Mecca Royal Clock Tower hotel will be the world's second-tallest building. Photo: The Sunday Times
The world’s largest clock will be the centrepiece of a giant hotel that will dominate the skyline of Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca when it opens this autumn.

The Mecca Royal Clock Tower hotel, an architectural amalgam of Big Ben and the Empire State Building, is part of a £3.3 billion complex which, at 1,939ft, will be the second tallest building in the world.

The four faces of the German-built clock, each 141ft high, will be visible from 10 miles away by day and more than seven miles at night.

It has been deliberately designed to dwarf London’s Big Ben, whose faces are 23ft high. Mohammed al-Arkubi, the hotel’s general manager said: “Putting Mecca time in the face of Greenwich mean time, this is the goal.”

The clock’s mechanism will be started in August before Ramadan and the opening of the seven-star, 800-room luxury hotel, which will cater for rich participants in the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

The complex, built on the site of an old Ottoman fort, consists of seven towers, two helipads and a shopping centre that will open next year. Three thousand rooms and suites will go on sale, with one-room studio flats starting at £430,000.

The building is capped by a spire topped with a golden crescent.

Many of the rooms directly overlook the Kaaba, the cube-shaped granite building covered in black silk towards which every Muslim turns in daily prayer. Continue reading and comment >>> Rosie Kinchen | Sunday, June 27, 2010

Obama Meets Cameron


THE TIMES: Cameron and Obama renew the ‘special relationship’ with a beer:David Cameron and President Obama have launched their working relationship with a helicopter ride, an exchange of beers and agreement on the need to preserve BP “as an ongoing concern”. >>> Roland Watson, Giles Whittell, Toronto | Sunday, June 27, 2010

Liliane Bettencourt Sets France Agog Over Links Between Money and Power
THE TELEGRAPH: Liliane Bettencourt, heiress to the L'Oréal fortune and France's richest woman, is at the centre of a web of revelations about money, power and influence in the French Republic.

Liliane Bettencourt and her 'adoptive son' Francois-Marie Banier. Photo: The Telegraph
Liliane Bettencourt is the nearest thing the French Republic has to the Queen: regal, elegant, impeccably groomed and wealthy.

As France's richest woman, the L'Oréal heiress occupies the constitutional twilight zone where the extraordinarily privileged meet the extremely political.

In this exclusive power group – rather like a masonic lodge without the aprons – influence and favours can be traded: donations given; promises made; gongs awarded; designer-draped backs scratched discreetly over champagne and canapés.

Discreetly, that was, until Mrs Bettencourt, 87, suffered a Paul Burrell moment – a blabby majordomo who secretly taped her private conversations. Now French citizens are reeling from previously inconceivable claims that their hair-dye queen has been fiddling her tax returns, employing a top government minister's wife and involved in what, if true, smacks of plans to pervert the course of justice.

The "Butlergate" tapes have brought a new twist to the bitter legal battle between Mrs Bettencourt and her only daughter who claims her ageing mother is no longer in a fit state of mind to manage the family fortune.

On Thursday, Françoise Meyers-Bettencourt will start a private prosecution against a gay society photographer she claims took advantage of her mother's mental frailty to "manipulate" her out of €1 billion (£800 million).

François-Marie Banier, 63, the photographer, denies the charge of "abuse of weakness". He has received valuable works of art, cash and insurance policies from Mrs Bettencourt – who has also rejected the accusation, saying: "I can do what I like with my money." >>> Kim Willsher in Paris | Saturday, June 26, 2010

Coalition to Tell Unemployed to 'Get on Your Bike*'
THE TELEGRAPH: Radical plans to relocate the long term unemployed to areas where there are jobs are being drawn up by the Coalition.

Iain Duncan Smith has revealed radical plans to relocate the long term unemployed to areas where there are jobs. Photo: The Telegraph
Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, discloses the move in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph today in which he outlines proposals to make the workforce “more mobile”.

The controversial plan echoes the words of Norman Tebbit in 1981 when he told the unemployed to “get on your bike” and look for work.

It is part of tough action to cut spiralling welfare bills and tackle Britain’s record deficit.

Last week a major shake-up of housing benefit and increased health checks for disability claimants were announced as part of the biggest cuts in public spending for almost a century. >>> Melissa Kite, Deputy Political Editor | Saturday, June 26, 2010

*Bald-headed, too-comfortable politicians, whose livelihoods are paid for by the taxpayer, should also be careful that they are not told BY THE TAXPAYERS to get off their fat arses and do a proper job of work. – © Mark

BBC Working Hard for Britain’s Muslims! Are Beards Obligatory for Devout Muslim Men?
BBC: Hizbul-Islam militants in Somalia ordered men in Mogadishu this week to grow their beards and trim their moustaches.

"Anyone found violating this law will face the consequences," a Hizbul-Islam militant said, announcing the edict.
But, is growing a beard obligatory under Islam?

Professor Muhammad Abdel Haleem, of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, says it is not.

It is up to the individual whether he lets his facial hair grow or not, Mr Abdel Haleem says, attributing this view to most scholars of Islamic law across a majority of Muslim-dominated countries.

Recommendation

Muslims learn about the Prophet's views on facial hair not from the Koran, but through hadith - or sayings - attributed to Muhammad.

One such hadith, related by Muslim scholar Sahih Bukhari centuries ago, stipulates: "Cut the moustaches short and and leave the beard."

The Prophet Muhammad is believed to have had a beard and those who insist that devout Muslims grow beards argue that they are doing no more than asking the faithful to emulate the Prophet's actions.

The question that arises is one of enforcement.

Mr Abdel Haleem says the body of Islamic law at the core of manuals of Muslim practice puts it as a recommendation - sitting in the middle between an order and absolute free choice.

But, he adds, it is "a recommendation nonetheless". >>> | Saturday, June 26, 2010

Piusbrüder trotzen Papst
NZZ ONLINE: Die umstrittene Piusbruderschaft hat am Samstag trotz heftiger Kritik der katholischen Amtskirche drei Priester geweiht. >>> sda/dpa | Samstag, 26. Juni 2010

Grossdemo bei Paris gegen iranisches Mullah-Regime*
BERNER ZEITUNG: Tausende Exil-Iraner aus aller Welt haben am Samstag in Taverny bei Paris für einen «demokratischen Wandel im Iran» demonstriert. Sie unterstützen «Sanktionen gegen das klerikale Regime».

Fordern, dass der Kauf von Öl und Gas vom iranischen Regime sofort eingestellt wird: Exil-Iraner. Bild: Berner Zeitung
Die Teilnehmer mahnten zudem politische Unterstützung des Westens für den Sturz des Regimes an. Die Erklärung werde von 3500 Parlamentariern aus Europa und Nordamerika unterstützt, erklärte der Nationale Widerstandsrat Iran (NWRI). >>> mt/sda | Samstag, 26. Juni 2010

*Sicherlich kann es nur eine Frage der Zeit sein, bis das Regime auseinanderfallen wird. – © Mark

YNET NEWS: Iranian exiles demand tougher sanctions: Thousands of Iranian exiles rally in France, demand tougher sanctions against Tehran >>> Reuters | Saturday, June 26, 2010

Insulte à Sarkozy: condamné à 35 h de travaux généraux
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le jeune homme qui a insulté le président français risquait une peine de prison

Photo: Tribune de Genève
Un jeune interpellé de façon musclée pour avoir insulté le président français Nicolas Sarkozy, en visite dans une banlieue de Paris, a été condamné vendredi à 35 heures de travaux d'intérêt général par un tribunal de la région parisienne.

Le jeune homme, âgé de 21 ans, poursuivi pour «outrage» avait lancé, selon les propos rapportés à l'audience et qu'il a reconnu: «Va te faire enculer connard, ici t'es chez moi». Le procureur du tribunal de Bobigny avait requis 210 heures de travaux d'intérêt général. L'accusé risquait une peine maximum de 6 mois de prison et d'une amende pouvant atteindre 7.500 euros.

Lors de son interpellation il a été blessé, des blessures suffisantes pour qu'un médecin lui prescrive neuf jours d'incapacité totale de travail. >>> AFP | Samedi 26 Juin 2010

Face-to-Face: Cameron Talks with Obama

Chelsea Barracks: The Deal-maker
THE GUARDIAN: Amanda Staveley is best known for orchestrating Abu Dhabi's and Qatar's eye-catching £7.3bn investment in Barclays in 2008

Amanda Staveley takes her seat at a football match. Photograph: The Guardian
Amanda Staveley, broker to the sheikhs, has pulled off another high-profile property deal for the emirate of Qatar, which is continuing its aggressive buying spree in London.

Staveley advised the Qatari property company Barwa Real Estate on the £250m acquisition of the Park House site in Oxford Street - the biggest development in the area since the Second World War - from the developer, Land Securities.

Staveley is best known for orchestrating Abu Dhabi's and Qatar's eye-catching £7.3bn investment in Barclays in 2008, followed a few months later by the takeover of Manchester City Football Club by Abu Dhabi's ruling family. The 37-year-old former athlete and model reportedly pocketed £5m to £7.5m in fees from the latest deal.

The news came as it emerged that the Qatar Investment Authority, the emirate's sovereign wealth fund, was in talks to take a third share in the Savoy hotel in London. The 120-year-old hotel is owned under a 50-50 joint venture by HBOS and Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal's Kingdom Holding. It is due to reopen in October after a refurbishment that has taken 18 months longer than expected and is likely to cost more than twice the originally budgeted £100m. The hotel comes with a big debt burden – its 2008 accounts showed loans of $212m and that figure is likely to be higher now.

Another part of the QIA, Qatar Holding, is said to have joined the bidding war for Grosvenor House, the five-star hotel put up for sale by Royal Bank of Scotland at the start of the year. The hotel, on Park Lane in Mayfair, has attracted interest from a handful of bidders, including the Abu Dhabi and Singapore sovereign wealth funds. The sale is expected to raise at least £500m. >>> Julia Kollewe | Thursday, June 17, 2010

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Come Join the Party! We’re Having Lots of Fun
THE TELEGRAPH: The G8 leaders said it was important to accelerate efforts to make sure the Afghanistan's own security forces can "assume increasing responsibility within five years."

The Prime Minister and the President are expected to discuss BP and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Photo: The Telegraph
The leaders of the world's eight top industrial democracies also condemned the alleged sinking by North Korea of a South Korean warship and calling on Iran to do more to respect human rights.

The countries — the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and Russia — added that current tensions in Gaza were "unsustainable."

But the joint statement by the so-called Group of Eight powers did not go as far as some nations, including the United States and Japan, wanted.

The joint statement was released at the end of a meeting in Canada of the eight powers and before a larger group of 20 nations convenes that also includes fast-growing economies like China.

The leaders turned to foreign policy matters after finding themselves at odds on how to continue to spur world economic growth in the aftermath of the worst recession since the 1930s. The countries were divided over whether to continue government stimulus spending, as the United States wants, or to cut mushrooming deficits, as Europe and Japan want. G8 sketch out a five-year exit strategy on Afghanistan >>> | Saturday, June 26, 2010

Don’t be fooled by the sweet, demure looks! Isn’t this the face of a ruthless businesswoman, willing to sell off Britain’s assets to the rich Arabs and line her own pockets in the process?
Amanda Staveley Finds that Islam Moves Closer to Her Heart
THE TELEGRAPH: Amanda Staveley, the former girlfriend of the Duke of York, talks about falling in love with a Muslim.

Amanda Staveley has helped bring some of the Islamic world's biggest financial investments to this country. The 36-year-old Yorkshirewoman has now received an offer closer to her heart.

"My boyfriend is Muslim," disclosed Staveley, who was once predicted to become the Duke of York's second wife.

The former Businesswoman of the Year said on Friday that she was attracted to the Muslim faith. "I believe in monotheism," she said. "Whether it is Judaism, Islam, Christianity, there are more similarities than there are differences, but I am drawn to Islam."

Staveley did not disclose the name of her boyfriend, but said he had not encouraged her to join his faith. "I don't think he would ask me to convert," she said. >>> Tim Walker. Edited by Richard Eden | Saturday, June 26, 2010


Qataris Target Another Landmark Asset as Their Super-broker Amanda Staveley Pockets £5m
Prime position: the Park House site in Oxford Street. Photo: London Evening Standard
LONDON EVENING STANDARD: The Qatari ruling family are poised to add to their already bulging portfolio of trophy London assets with a bid for a third ownership of the Savoy.

The Qatar Investment Authority, which owns Harrods, the US Embassy Building in Mayfair and Chelsea Barracks, as well as big stakes in Barclays, Sainsbury's and the London Stock Exchange, is understood to be in talks about an offer for the Grosvenor House hotel.

The move comes as Amanda Staveley, deal broker to the Arabs and ex-girlfriend of Prince Andrew, pocketed a multi-million-pound windfall for orchestrating yet another Qatari purchase of a prime West End development site.

The former model advised Qatari property investment company Barwa to buy the Park House site in Oxford Street from Land Securities for
£250 million.

It is thought the deal earned the
37-year-old and her Mayfair advisory firm PCP Capital Partners in the region of £5 million to £7.5 million in fees.

The discussions on the Savoy are said to involve Qatari Diar, the QIA's property investment arm, taking a stake in the Savoy of up to 33 per cent, with the two current joint owners, Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and HBOS, trimming their holdings. >>> Jonathan Prynn and Hugo Duncan | Thursday, June 17, 2010

Amanda Staveley
Amanda Staveley is a highly successful businesswoman. Born in Doncaster, Staveley was a good childhood athlete in show jumping and sprinting (at 14 years old, Staveley ran 100 metres in 12.6 seconds) but was eventually hindered by an injury to her achilles tendon. Accepted to St Catherine’s College at Cambridge to study modern languages, she supplemented her student grant with work as a model, but dropped out after being hospitalised with stress. Staveley then opened a restaurant, through which she became acquainted with the Maktoums, family of the ruler of Dubai, but built her name as a businesswoman through successful investments in starting companies and trading of stocks. Staveley made £40million in commission driving a deal between Barclays Bank and Gulf sheiks. In 2008, Staveley brokered the takeover of Manchester City FC by the ruling family of Abu Dhabi. [Source: This Is London]

Cameron: I Won't Waste 10 Years in Power Like Blair Did
Close: Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg are working well together and sources claim they may appear at each other's party conferences. Photo: Mail Online
MAIL ONLINE: David Cameron has declared he would serve only five years as Prime Minister if that is the price of pushing through bold and lasting economic and social reforms.

The Prime Minister, speaking at his first international summit, said he was determined not to emulate Tony Blair's 'ten wasted years'.

'I would rather have five reforming years as Prime Minister than ten wasted years like Blair,' he said.

Mr Cameron claimed that Labour's attacks on the coalition are pushing the Tories and the Lib Dems 'closer together'.

He believes Labour is making a massive mistake in using the Lib Dems as a 'lightning rod' for its attacks on spending cuts imposed in last week's emergency Budget.

Mr Cameron, who is in Canada for the G8 and G20 summits this weekend, claimed that Labour was simply helping to achieve a 'realignment of British politics' with itself on 'the losing side'.

The two parties are working so closely together, according to Downing Street sources, that there is even a possibility of Mr Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg making appearances at each other's annual conferences in September. Continue reading and comment >>> James Chapman | Saturday, June 26, 2010

UK Honours Its Armed Forces


THE TELEGRAPH: Armed Forces Day: Queen pays tribute to courage of British servicemen and women – The Queen has spoken of the "admirable professionalism and courage" displayed by Britain's servicemen and women as thousands of people began lining the streets to celebrate Armed Forces Day. >>> | Saturday, June 26, 2010

Medvedev, le meilleur ami d'Obama
Les deux présidents ont fait une tribune commune lors d'un colloque jeudi soir. Photo : leJDD.fr
leJDD.fr: Avant le double sommet G8/G20, Dmitri Medvedev était en visite aux Etats-Unis, où il s'est entretenu avec Barack Obama, pour la septième fois en privé. La Maison blanche évoque un rapprochement décisif.

Après un "Salut tout le monde" très neutre, "San Francisco est une très belle ville" fut le deuxième tweet envoyé par Dmitri Medvedev mercredi soir, lors de sa visite en Californie. Nouvel inscrit sur la plate-forme américaine de micro-blogging, sous le nom "KermelinRussia", le président russe a profité de son voyage officiel aux États-Unis pour afficher son entente cordiale avec Washington. Vingt-quatre heures avant la tenue du G8, puis du G20, à Toronto (Canada), Medvedev et Obama semblent en effet sur la même longueur d'ondes. Ils ont mangé un burger ensemble dans un fast-food, se sont fait des blagues sur le téléphone rouge devant une armée de photographes, ont tenu des discours quasi-identiques sur l'Iran ou la Corée du Nord.

A l'heure où, sous l'impulsion des puissances émergentes (Chine, Inde, Brésil, Afrique du Sud et Mexique), les grandes décisions se prennent au G20 et non plus au G8, les Etats-Unis cherchent à maintenir leur pouvoir d'influence. Mais, après la crise, leurs partenaires européens s'opposent à Washington sur la reprise et la régulation financière. Entre autres sujets de discordes, le couple franco-allemand défend fermement une taxe bancaire que refuse la Maison blanche. D'autant que Londres s'est rallié sur ce point à Paris et Berlin. Au sein de cette communauté internationale en pleine évolution, la Russie veut se poser en puissance tranquille. Vers une coopération plus étroite >>> G.V. - leJDD.fr | Vendredi 25 Juin 2010

Moskau und London wollen Eiszeit beenden
Der britische Premier Cameron und Russlands Präsident Dmitri Medwedew auf dem G8-Gipfel: Großbritannien und Russland wollen ihre jahrelange Eiszeit beenden. Foto: Berliner Zeitung
BERLINER ZEITUNG: Moskau/Huntsville - Russland und Großbritannien wollen sich nach jahrelanger Entfremdung wieder aufeinander zubewegen. Kremlchef Dmitri Medwedew und der neue britische Premierminister David Cameron vereinbarten in Kanada bei ihrem ersten Treffen einen Neustart in den Beziehungen.

Nötig sei eine «grundlegende Korrektur», sagte Medwedew bei der Zusammenkunft mit Cameron beim G8-Gipfel in Kanada, wie der Kreml am Samstag mitteilte.

Cameron wies darauf hin, dass es weiterhin Meinungsverschieden-heiten zwischen beiden Ländern gebe. Trotzdem sollten sie zum Beispiel in Wirtschaftsfragen, beim Kampf gegen den Klimawandel und beim akademischen Austausch enger zusammenarbeiten.

Medwedew und Cameron einigten sich auf intensivere persönliche Kontakte. Cameron versprach sogar, künftig den Meldungen seines russischen Kollegen beim Internetdienst Twitter zu folgen. >>> © dpa | Samstag, 26. Juni 2010

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