Tuesday, January 11, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Ministers cave in to City and reject calls to tackle highest earners as No 10 seeks face-saving deal
Britain's banks were given the go-ahead tonight to pay unlimited bonuses, drawing to a close a two-year political battle to rein in the City.
After months in which a series of government ministers of all parties have threatened a toughening in the stance over City bonuses, Downing Street said the government did not intend to intervene in the pay of the UK's top bankers.
Ministers are instead hoping for a face-saving deal in which the banks agree to lending targets and improve the way they disclose their pay deals. One of the options being discussed is releasing information on the five highest paid individuals at each bank.
"We've made a broad statement which is about the need to see some restraint and some responsibility from the banks, but we are not going to set bonus pools for individual banks," the prime minister's spokesman said. >>> Patrick Wintour, Jill Treanor and Allegra Stratton | Monday, January 10, 2011
THE INDEPENDENT: Tough talk on bank bonuses comes to nought: The Government owns 83 per cent of RBS. So why does it claim to be powerless to halt another round of enormous bank bonuses? >>> James Moore, Deputy Business Editor | Tuesday, January 11, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton compared the man who shot Gabrielle Giffords to Islamist terrorists and the 9/11 attackers and said the incident showed America and the Arab world faced similar problems.In a television broadcast filmed before students in Abu Dhabi, Mrs Clinton was asked why the 9/11 terror attacks, the work of a handful of men, had been allowed to colour American views of a whole people.
She replied that America was "proud" of its many Muslim citizens and public servants, and said that the media exaggerated the voices of those who presented hostile views of the Muslim and Arab worlds.
She then raised the shooting at the weekend of the Arizona Democratic congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords.
"We have extremists in our country," she said. "A wonderful and incredibly brave young woman congress member was just shot by extremists in our country.
"We have the same kinds of problems, so rather than standing off of each other we should work to try and prevent the extremists wherever they are from being able to commit violence."
Ascribing the Arizona shootings to political extremism rather than the work of a mentally deranged loner has already proved controversial, and President Barack Obama avoided doing so directly in his address to the American people afterwards.
Mrs Clinton may be taking an even bigger risk in comparing the attack, even obliquely, to al-Qaeda's war on America. >>> Richard Spencer, Abu Dhabi | Monday, January 10, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
MONTREAL GAZETTE: The Pope has warned parents against giving children celebrity-inspired names and urged them to turn to the Bible for inspiration instead.
While names such as Sienna and Scarlett have become fashionable in recent years, Pope Benedict XVI called for a return to tradition.
During Mass at the Sistine Chapel, he said: "Every baptised child acquires the character of the son of God, beginning with their Christian name, an unmistakable sign that the Holy Spirit causes man to be born anew in the womb of the Church." He added that a name was an "indelible seal" that set children off on a lifelong "journey of religious faith".
According to the Office for National Statistics, celebrity names such as Ashton - after the actor Ashton Kutcher - and Lily - after the singer Lily Allen - are among the most popular in England and Wales. The names celebrities give their own children can be even more exotic.
Sir Bob Geldof has daughters named Pixie and Peaches, while Victoria and David Beckham called their first son Brooklyn, after the district of New York. Katie Price, the glamour model, named her daughter Princess Tiaamii.
In Italy, the name of a child has particular significance. Children's are often named after saints, who are considered a guiding force in their life.
The tradition, however, is increasingly under threat. Francesco Totti, the footballer, recently decided to call his daughter Chanel, while Flavio Briatore, the Formula One boss, named his newborn son Falso Nathan. >>> Nick Squires and Steven Swinford, The Daily Telegraph | Monday, January 10, 2011
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le pape a déploré ce lundi que des cours d’éducation sexuelle ou civique soient "imposés dans certains pays européens" aux enfants
Le pape a qualifié d’"atteinte à la liberté religieuse des familles" la participation "imposée" à "des cours d'éducation sexuelle ou civique véhiculant des conceptions de la personne et de la vie" qui "reflètent une anthropologie contraire à la foi et à la juste raison" en recevant en audience l’ensemble du corps diplomatique accrédité auprès du Vatican pour la traditionnelle cérémonie des voeux de Nouvel An.
L’Espagne notamment a introduit depuis 2007 des cours d’éducation à la citoyenneté au programme (rejet de l’homophobie, droit au divorce et à l’avortement, acceptation des familles homoparentales etc..) jugé trop "progressiste" par l’Eglise.
Appelant une nouvelle fois au respect de la liberté religieuse, le pape a dénoncé des "menaces contre (son) plein exercice", en Occident, citant sans plus de précision "des pays dans lesquels on accorde une grande importance au pluralisme et à la tolérance, mais où la religion subit une croissante marginalisation". >>> AFP | Lundi 10 Janvier 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Cuba has begun the process of laying-off a tenth of its state workforce in a drive to push employees into small businesses that could mark the beginning of the end of the 50-year communist experiment on the island.The state labour union announced this week that the first of some 500,000 employees could expect to receive "pink slips" immediately, effectively terminating their employment in the public sector where, until now, almost 90 per cent of Cuba's workforce have been employed.
The lay-offs will begin in the ministries of agriculture, sugar, construction, health and tourism, according to Salvador Valdes, the leader of the Workers' Central Union of Cuba (CTC). Workers, who on average earn a monthly wage of $20 (£13), were told to expect compensation of one month's salary for every ten years on the job.
Committees have been set up in each workplace to draw up the list of those jobs to be cut, the CTC said – a process that "will be free of favouritism, nepotism and paternalism". >>> Fiona Govan, Madrid | Wednesday, January 05, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Basque terrorist group ETA have announced a "permanent ceasefire" renouncing violence after more than 40 years of bloodshed.
The declaration was made in a video featuring three militants, their faces hidden by white hoods beneath black berets.
"This is ETA's firm commitment towards a process to achieve a lasting resolution and towards an end to the armed confrontation," a male voice said.
The statement makes permanent a truce called in September but made no mention of handing over weapons, a move considered key to the socialist government before they will consider entering into dialogue.
ETA has broken ceasefires several times in the past, most recently in 2006 when a truce was ended by a deadly bomb attack at Madrid's airport.
But the ceasefire was quickly rejected by Spain's socialist government who said it did not go far enough. >>> Fiona Govan, Madrid | Monday, January 10, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama led a nationwide moment of silence to honour the victims of the Arizona shooting.
Mr Obama, the US president, and his wife Michelle, emerged from the White House, took a few steps toward the South Lawn and stood, heads bowed, the only sound the sombre ringing of a bell.
The silence was observed outside the Capitol building, with staff members gathering on the steps to honour the victims.
The 22-year-old man charged with attempting to assassinate a US congresswoman in a shooting spree in Arizona is due to appear in a federal court in Phoenix, the state's capital.
Jared Lee Loughner, 22, is expected to be charged with the attempted assassination of US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, two counts of murdering a federal government employee, and two of attempting to assassinate a federal government employee.
"As the investigation goes on, there may well be additional charges that will be filed," Robert Mueller, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, told reporters in Tucson. >>> | Monday, January 10, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A prominent Iranian human rights lawyer who was defending pro-democracy activists arrested after the country's disputed June, 2009, presidential election has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Nasrin Sotoudeh, was found guilty of acting against national security and propaganda against the regime.
Reza Khandan, Mrs Sotoudeh's husband, said she had also been banned from working as a lawyer for 20 years and barred from leaving Iran.
Mrs Sotoudeh, a 45 year old mother of two who has won several prestigious awards for her work, was arrested in September, after she gave interviews to foreign-based media about clients who had been jailed after the controversial 2009 presidential polls. >>> | Monday, January 10, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A massive and sudden tidal wave of mud and water enveloped an Australian city near Brisbane this afternoon, sweeping four people to their death, with serious fears for another three children missing, last seen swept away in the raging torrent.
Authorities are desperately searching for many others missing and have ordered the immediate evacuation of 5000 residents in the path of deadly water downstream from Toowoomba, just an hour's drive west of the Queensland capital Brisbane. Steve James, the local mayor of Lockyer Valley, described it as "absolute devastation".
Queensland Deputy Police Commissioner Ian Stewart warned more lives were under threat. >>> Jacquelin Magnay, Brisbane | Monday, January 10, 2011
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: AUSTRALIAN women who convert to Islam often find themselves with a foot in two camps and a tent in neither. A Muslim community may be very welcoming, but converts often find ethnic and language barriers difficult.
And, though they find themselves acting as spokeswomen for their new faith because they are more confident with the language, more certain of their entitlement to be heard, and are less likely to be inhibited by a perception that Muslims are negatively stereotyped in the culture at large, they are not always popular with Muslims, or non-Muslims, when they speak out.
So said Jamila Hussein, an academic who lectures in Islamic studies at the University of Technology, Sydney, who converted to Islam in 1988.
New research by Swansea University on behalf of Faith Matters showed that over the past decade the number of converts to Islam in Britain has risen from 60,000 to 100,000 - a big jump - and that 5200 people converted last year alone, among them Lauren Booth, the sister-in-law of the former prime minister, Tony Blair.
While there is nothing like the same sort of conversion rate in Australia, it is an under-the-radar phenomenon that brings with it unheralded problems that converts must rely on themselves to face. >>> Matt Buchanan | Tuesday, January 11, 2011
JUBA, Sudan — It’s not every day that a beleaguered, marginalized and persecuted people get a chance to vote for their own freedom. On Sunday, southern Sudanese did.
Starting in the cool hours of the night, long before the polls even opened, people across this region began lining up at polling stations to cast their votes in a historic referendum on whether to declare independence. Jubilant crowds made clear which was the overwhelmingly popular choice.
“I feel like I’m going to a new land,” beamed Susan Duku, a southern Sudanese woman who works for the United Nations.
As the sun cleared the horizon and the voting began, the streets of Juba, the capital of southern Sudan, broke into a street party. Women were literally skipping around the polls. Young men thumped on drums. Others were wrapped in flags.
On Monday, voting in the weeklong ballot continued as reports began to emerge from the Abyei region near the border with northern Sudan of fighting between northern and southern forces in an area considered a likely flashpoint before, during and after the vote. At least 23 people died in three days of clashes, Reuters reported, quoting leaders aligned with the southern authorities.
In Juba, though, things stayed peaceful — rowdy, but peaceful on Sunday. One man, who clearly had been celebrating with fortified beverages the night before, staggered around a polling station blowing an instrument fashioned from a cow’s horn and rubber tubing.
People were hollering, singing, hugging, kissing, smacking high-fives and dancing as if they never wanted the day to end, despite the sun beating down and voting lines that snaked for blocks.
Southern Sudan has suffered a lot, and after years of civil war, oppression and displacement, many people here saw the vote as an unprecedented chance at self-determination. The referendum ballot offered two choices, unity with northern Sudan or secession. Unity was represented on the ballot by a drawing of two clasped hands. Secession was a single open hand. Many people rely on these symbols: more than three-quarters of southern Sudanese adults cannot read. >>> Jeffrey Gettleman (Josh Kron contributed reporting) | Monday, January 10, 2011
BBC: A court in the Saudi city of Medina has sentenced a woman to three years in jail for the severe physical abuse of her Indonesian maid.Sumiati Binti Salan Mustapa, 23, was admitted to hospital in November with broken bones and burns to her face and body.
The case received worldwide attention, and prompted the Indonesian president to demand justice for her "torture".
But local media say the alleged abuser maintains she is innocent.
Scissors
The employer was convicted under a new royal decree against human trafficking, al-Watan newspaper reported.
It quoted a lawyer for the Indonesian consulate, Abdulrahman al-Muhamadi, as saying he would appeal against the ruling in order to press for a tougher sentence.
The defendant's lawyer also said she would appeal against the sentence, reported Saudi Gazette.
Ms Sumiati is thought to have arrived in Saudi Arabia last July seeking work.
The woman for whom she found work as a maid was arrested after allegedly beating Ms Sumiati so severely she had broken bones and internal bleeding. She was accused of putting a hot iron to Ms Sumiati's head and stabbing and mutilating her with scissors.
Ms Sumiati appeared in court last week to show the judge her scars. >>> | Monday, January 09, 2011
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The US said at the weekend it would respond to the rapidly-increasing military capabilities of China by building up its own strength in the region.
Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, was speaking as he arrived in Beijing on Sunday for four days of talks aimed at renewing ties between the US and Chinese armed forces. However his visit has been overshadowed by a series of announcements by the Chinese about the growing strength of their missile technology, naval capabilities and other defence initiatives.
The visit is the first by a US defence secretary since 2000, and comes at a time of heightened tension in the region. It is also almost one year after China suspended military contacts with Washington following arms sales to Taiwan. >>> David Eimer in Beijing | Sunday, January 09, 2011
Sunday, January 09, 2011
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The devastating floods that are sweeping through Queensland have reached the outer suburbs of the state's capital Brisbane and now threaten some of the country's most popular tourist destinations.
Heavy rain on Sunday fell on Australia's Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane, prompting warnings of flash flooding, and a close watch was also being kept on the Gold Coast, a major draw for the state's tourism industry and an essential part of Queensland's economy.
At one of the region's busiest times of year for tourism, holidaymakers have been warned to stay away from campsites close to rivers. The bad weather and flood warnings are a further blow to Queensland tourism, which is already estimated to have suffered losses of $1bn (£640 million) as a result of the floods.
Brett Harrison, a weather forecaster, said there had been reports of flooding in low-lying areas of Brisbane and the situation was expected to worsen. Some basements and underground car parks were filling with water.
"It is not in the city at the moment but it is certainly going to increase over the next 24 to 48 hours. We are expecting heavy rain to continue during that time," he said. "There is a possibility of moderate to major flooding for areas west of Brisbane." >>> Bonnie Malkin, Rockhampton | Sunday, January 09, 2011
BBC: Prime Minister David Cameron has called on banks to pay smaller bonuses this year.
Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr show he said banks should be more "socially responsible".
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which is majority-owned by the taxpayer, should not be "leading the way" on bonuses but should be a "back marker", he said.
However "micro-managing" the banks was not the answer, he added. >>> | Sunday, January 09, 2011
* Cameron talking baloney! He’ll never do anything about bankers and their despicable, excessive bonuses. He is weak and cowardly. – © Mark
DAILY EXPRESS: BRITAIN’S bailed-out banks sparked outrage last night as it emerged they are about to pay £7billion in bonuses.
The nation’s five largest – Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds TSB and Standard Chartered – are on the verge of issuing bumper payouts to staff.
Barclays is expected to lavish £2.5billion in bonuses while taxpayer-owned RBS is thought to be considering a bonus pool of over £1billion.
Signalling a return to pre-recession payout levels while ordinary families suffer, a think-tank estimates City bonuses for 2010 at £7billion.
Last night banks were accused of failing to change their “culture of greed and excess”. RBS – which is 84 per cent state-owned after a £45billion taxpayer bailout – is said to be considering a £6.8million package for chief executive Stephen Hester.
After foregoing a £1.6million bonus last year, Mr Hester, who admits even his parents think he is paid too much, is expected to accept the windfall. >>> Martin Brown | Monday, January 10, 2011
MAIL ONLINE: The Royals are to be shrouded in a thicker cloak of secrecy because of a controversial change in the law which will protect them from public scrutiny.Letters, emails and documents relating to the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William can no longer be disclosed – even if they might be in the public interest.
The changes, which are part of a series of reforms to the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, will mean an end to journalists investigating the family’s finances.
The move calls into question Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s comments this week which stated it was a ‘fundamental right’ of all citizens to be able to hold their government to account.
He outlined a plan to extend the FOI Act to hundreds more taxpayer-funded bodies, opening up to greater scrutiny by the public.
But he did not mention the clause restricting information about the Royals. >>> Eleanor Harding | Saturday, January 08, 2011
If you thought that the United Kingdom was a democracy, forget it! In the UK, there are laws for the rich and privileged, and laws for the poor. The UK is, after all, a monarchy. There are the aristocracy, or the patricians, and the workers, or the plebeians. In common parlance, the rich and the poor. It was ever thus; and ever thus it will be! Some are above the law; and others are not. – © Mark
ZEIT ONLINE: Ungarn ist auf dem Weg zu einer autoritären Herrschaft. Die EU muss das Land notfalls zum Austritt drängen.
Ein Nebeneffekt von Finanz- und Euro-Krise ist, dass sich die EU-Länder fast ausschließlich mit sich selbst beschäftigen – nur wenn einem Staat die Pleite droht, richten sich plötzlich alle Augen auf ihn.
Dabei sollten doch Wirtschaft und Geld nach dem Willen der europäischen Gründerväter nur Mittel zum Zweck sein: Die europäische Einigung ist seit je ein politisches Projekt, zunächst um Kriege zwischen den Mitgliedsstaaten unmöglich zu machen; seit den achtziger Jahren, als die jungen südeuropäischen Postdiktaturen aufgenommen wurden, fungiert die EU auch als eine Art supranationale Versicherungspolice, um Demokratie und Rechtsstaat zu schützen.
Nicht zuletzt mit dem Argument, dass Brüssel die europäischen Verfassungsstandards garantiere, wurde die große Osterweiterung 2004 gerechtfertigt. Doch angesichts der »nationalen Revolution« in Ungarn, wo die Regierung gerade den Rechtsstaat demontiert und auf eine »gelenkte Demokratie« à la Putin zusteuert, schweigt Europa, jedenfalls das offizielle Europa – und dies ausgerechnet in einem Moment, in dem Ungarn am 1. Januar den EU-Ratsvorsitz übernimmt.
Die Fakten sind inzwischen hinlänglich bekannt: Bei der Wahl im vergangenen April hat die nationalkonservative Fidesz-Partei zwei Drittel der Parlamentssitze errungen – genug, um die Verfassung jederzeit ohne Mitwirkung einer anderen Partei ändern zu können. Der überwältigende Sieg war zuallererst ein Votum gegen die seit acht Jahren regierenden Sozialisten, die das Land an den Rand des finanziellen Abgrunds geführt hatten.
Nichtsdestotrotz behauptete der charismatische Fidesz-Führer Viktor Orbán, seine Partei habe ein klares Mandat erhalten, eine neue Verfassung und ein »System der nationalen Zusammenarbeit« einzuführen. Bereits im Vorfeld der Wahl hatte er versprochen, nun werde endlich Schluss sein mit dem ewigen Parteienhader; eine einzige Partei solle langfristig stabil regieren und den authentischen Volkswillen zur Geltung bringen.
Orbán argumentiert klassisch populistisch: Das ganze komplizierte System von Gewaltenteilung und checks and balances ist angeblich nur ein Hindernis, um effektiv durchzuregieren; Eliten wie Verfassungsrichter und kritische Journalisten stehen einer wahren Demokratie im Wege. >>> Von Jan-Werner Müller | Freitag, 31. Dezember 2010
ZEIT ONLINE: Muslimische Intellektuelle und Alltagsrassisten sind mitverantwortlich für den Hass auf die christlichen Kopten.
Wir Ägypter werden uns zusammenfinden zu einem gemeinsamen Ausruf der Verachtung. Vereint als Muslime und Christen, als Regierung und Opposition, Kirche und Moschee, als Kleriker und Laien, werden wir uns alle erheben und einstimmig al-Qaida, militante Islamisten und muslimische Fanatiker aller Art anklagen. Einige von uns werden sogar noch einen Schritt weiter gehen und die Salafiten und die der ägyptischen Kultur fremden Wahhabiten (eine besonders restriktive Strömung des Islams, Anm. d. Red.) anprangern.
Ein großer Teil der öffentlichen Empörung wird allerdings bloße Scheinheiligkeit sein, gerade so nuanciert, dass engstirnige Vorurteile, die abscheuliche Doppelmoral und die Bigotterie, die so viele der Ankläger fest im Griff halten, unterhalb der Oberfläche bleiben werden.
All das wird vergebens sein. Wir waren schon einmal an diesem Punkt angekommen; wir haben schon einmal genau das getan, was wir jetzt wieder tun werden. Und dennoch gibt es weitere Massaker, jedes schrecklicher als das zuvor, während Bigotterie und Intoleranz immer tiefer in jede Ecke und jede Ritze unserer Gesellschaft eindringen. Es ist nicht leicht, die Christen aus Ägypten zu vertreiben. Sie sind hier, seit es das Christentum gibt. Fast eineinhalb Jahrtausende muslimischer Herrschaft haben die christliche Gemeinde nicht auslöschen können. Im Gegenteil, der Überlebenskampf hat sie stark und dynamisch gemacht, fast so, als ob ihr eine entscheidende Rolle bei der Ausbildung einer nationalen, politischen und kulturellen Identität des modernen Ägyptens zuteil wurde.
Jetzt jedoch, zwei Jahrhunderte nach der Geburt des modernen Ägyptens und zu Beginn des zweiten Jahrzehnts des 21. Jahrhunderts, scheint das, was bisher undenkbar war, nicht mehr jenseits unserer Vorstellungskraft zu liegen: ein Ägypten ohne Christen. Ich hoffe, dass ich, falls das eintrifft, schon lange diese Erde verlassen haben werde. Doch ob tot oder lebendig, dieses Ägypten wird ein Ägypten sein, das ich nicht wiedererkenne und dem ich nicht angehören will.
Mein Protest richtet sich nicht gegen die blutdürstigen Kriminellen von al-Qaida oder gegen die Verbrecher irgendeiner anderen Gruppe, die an den jüngsten Gräueltaten in Alexandria beteiligt war.
Ich klage eine Regierung an, die zu glauben scheint, dass sie die Islamisten mit deren Mitteln zu überflügeln vermag. >>> Von Hani Shukrallah | Freitag, 07. Januar 2011
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