Israel Refuses to Tell US Its Iran Intentions
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Israel has refused to reassure President Barack Obama that it would warn him in advance of any pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear capabilities, raising fears that it may be planning a go-it-alone attack as early as next summer.

The US leader was rebuffed last month when he demanded private guarantees that no strike would go ahead without White House notification, suggesting Israel no longer plans to "seek Washington's permission", sources said. The disclosure, made by insiders briefed on a top-secret meeting between America's most senior defence chief and Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's hawkish prime minister, comes amid concerns that Iran's continuing progress towards nuclear weapons capability means the Jewish state has all but lost hope for a diplomatic solution. » | Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem | Saturday, November 12, 2011

Silvio Berlusconi Finally Resigns as Italy's Prime Minister, to Cheers from Supporters and Jeers from Foes
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Silvio Berlusconi has resigned as Italy's longest-serving post-war prime minister, bringing to an end a tumultuous, 17-year political career which was marred by sex scandals, corruption allegations and gaffes on the international stage.


His departure came hours after the country's lower house of parliament approved, by a margin of 380 votes to 26, an urgently-needed package of economic reforms designed to tackle the country's €1.9 trillion debt, revive its sluggish economy and prevent it from going the way of Greece.

After the vote, the 75-year-old billionaire media baron held a final meeting with his cabinet, and was then driven home to his official residence. There he consulted with party advisers, the final step before going to the presidential palace, on Rome's Quirinale Hill, where he gave his resignation to Italy's 86-year-old president, Giorgio Napolitano, a former Communist.

The president released a statement saying that consultations on forming a new government would start on Sunday.

Mr Berlusconi’s conservative PDL party said it was willing to accept an emergency government run by Mario Monti, an economist and former European Commissioner, so long as it kept to a tight remit of implementing economic reforms.

The party also said it wanted the emergency government to be limited to a fixed term and demanded that it be consulted over the formation of a new cabinet. It was not immediately clear whether Mr Monti would be willing to accept such stringent conditions.

Earlier a crowd of about 5,000 people erupted into jeers and boos when Mr Berlusconi arrived at the palace in a cavalcade of cars with a police motorcycle escort shortly before 8pm GMT.

They shouted "mafioso" and "buffoon" as the prime minister swept into the main entrance of the building.

Some protesters shouted, "You should die" and "Silvio, **** off."

At one point a small crowd of choral singers sang "Hallelujah" in the cobbled piazza outside the palace. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Saturday, November 12, 2011

LE POINT: Italie: Silvio Berlusconi sort par la petite porte – L'ex-président du Conseil s'est éclipsé du pouvoir par une issue dérobée, samedi soir, afin d'éviter les milliers de personnes réunies pour saluer son départ. » | Le Point.fr | samedi 12 / dimanche 13 novembre 2011


Regardez la vidéo du Point ici

Un mariage gay pour relancer le débat

leJDD: Un couple homosexuel a été symboliquement marié samedi midi à Cabestany, près de Perpignan.

Patrick et Guillaume se sont dit oui, même si leur union n'a rien d'officielle. Le maire communiste de Cabestany, dans les Pyrénées-Orientales, a marié samedi midi ce couple gay afin de relancer le débat sur le mariage homosexuel. Ce mariage n'a cependant pas d'existence légale car il ne sera pas inscrit sur le registre de l'état-civil, a précisé le maire.

Sous une pluie de pétales de roses et devant de nombreuses caméras, les deux hommes ont été acclamés par une foule de proches, d'invités et de responsables associatifs. Le maire Jean Vila a célébré le mariage en bonne et due forme, mais l'acte de mariage et un livret de famille portent la mention "ce document n'a malheureusement pas de caractère officiel, la loi interdisant aujourd'hui le mariage entre personnes de même sexe, mais marque la volonté de la municipalité de voir la loi évoluer". » | Par Tugdual de Dieuleveult avec Benjamin Peter | Publié jeudi 10 novembre 2011 / Mis à jour samedi 12 novembre 2011

Vladimir Putin Says He Is among Rare Breed Of Capable World Leaders - That's Why Russia Needs Him Again

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Vladimir Putin has defended his decision to return to the Russian presidency for a third time, saying there aren't enough talented world leaders to fill his generation's shoes.

Forcefully rebuffing suggestions that Russia's de facto one party political system had outlived its usefulness, he said he accepted there had to be changes but made it clear they would be evolutionary not revolutionary.

"Listen, take any country," he told a group of international academics and journalists who had flown into Moscow to meet him in the restaurant of an upmarket horse-riding club.

"(Silvio) Berlusconi is stepping down in Italy for example. (But) are there many politicians in Italy of his stature? Name me one," he demanded, after delivering a eulogy to his "great friend."

The outgoing Italian prime minister's image as a womaniser was a deliberate ploy to attract attention, he suggested, praising him for having brought years of political stability to Italy.

Arguing it would be hard for Italy to fill Mr Berlusconi's shoes, he said the dearth of talented leaders extended to America too.

"Or take the United States, there will be elections there soon. But the Republicans are winning, well they could win, but they have not got a leader! Where are they? The whole American system needs changing." Read on and comment » | Andrew Osborn, Moscow | Saturday, November 12, 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Dmitry Medvedev' social networking page bombarded by offensive 'presents': Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has been forced to hide part of his profile on Russia's biggest social networking site after he was inundated with hundreds of insulting virtual 'presents.' ¶ Mr Medvedev, who has announced he will stand down from the presidency next year in favour of Vladimir Putin, opened an account on VKontakte, Russia's equivalent to Facebook, earlier this month. ¶ An active blogger and iPad owner, the aim was to reinforce his self-styled image as a tech-savvy political moderniser and to restore his credibility which was damaged by his decision to hand the Kremlin keys back to Mr Putin, his long-time mentor. » | Andrew Osborn, Moscow | Friday, November 11, 2011

Iran: l'explosion a fait au moins 27 morts
LE FIGARO: L'ouest de Téhéran a été secoué aujourd'hui par une violente explosion qui s'est produite dans une base militaire et qui a fait au moins vingt-sept morts, selon un responsable iranien cité par les médias locaux.

L'explosion, initialement présentée comme celle d'une station de distribution de gaz pour véhicules, s'est en fait produite "dans une base militaire" de l'ouest de la capitale, selon Alireza Janeh, responsable des questions de sécurité auprès du gouverneur de Téhéran, cité par l'agence ISNA. » | Le Figaro.fr avec agencies | samedi 12 novembre 2011

HAARETZ: 27 dead after explosion rocks Revolutionary Guards base outside Iranian capital: Explosion occurs in the village of Bidganeh where the Fifth Raad Missile Brigade, responsible for launching Shahab 3 and 4 missiles, is stationed; satellite images of the site reveal two large military bases near the village. » | Yossi Melman, Jack Khoury, Reuters, The Associated Press and Avi Scharf | Saturday, November 12, 2011

Islam in Deutschland (Bülent Ucar und Ridwan Bauknecht)
Kopftuchmädchen, radikale Imame und Ehrenmorde. Muslimisches Leben in Deutschland wird häufig auf sehr vereinfachte Bilder reduziert. Aber warum war unser Nationaldichter Johann Wolfgang von Goethe vom Islam so fasziniert? Seit wann gibt es in Deutschland Moscheen und welche Stile werden heute gebaut? Und wie wird islamisches Leben bei uns heute gelebt? Wer sich mit der Geschichte und den Facetten des Islams in Deutschland befasst, findet Überraschendes.

Gäste: Bernd Ridwan Bauknecht, Prof. dr. Bülent Ucar

Britische Euro-Kritiker: Euer Empire und wir

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Faule Menschen, kaputte Sozialsysteme und maulige Deutsche, die keine Lust mehr auf ihre historische Schuld haben - so beschrieb Niall Ferguson im SPIEGEL die drohende Auflösung Europas. Seltsame Thesen, findet Matthias Matussek. Will der britische Euro-Kritiker gar Geld aus Germany?

Seit Angela Merkel die Eiserne Lady Europas ist und die Wirtschaftswunder-Deutschen die Führung in Europa übernommen haben, stehen die britischen Leitartikler Kopf. Die Euro-Krise befeuert die Leidenschaften auf der rezessionsgeplagten Insel, wie es sonst nur der Fußball tut. Es geht wie immer um Sieg und Niederlage und sowieso um offene historische Rechnungen.

Erst mal sind sie vernehmlich erleichtert, die Insulaner, dass sie ja eigentlich nicht zu Europa gehören. Sie sitzen auf dem Zaun. Der Euro - ein "brennendes Haus ohne Türen, ein Wahnsystem", wie ihn Außenminister William Hague nannte. Eine Reihe von Tory-Abgeordneten würde lieber heute als morgen aus der EU austreten.

Sie verstehen sich nach wie vor als Weltreich, unsere britischen Nachbarn, auch wenn ihnen die Welt abhanden gekommen ist. Aber das kompensieren sie dadurch, dass sie gerne in Kriege ziehen, an der Seite ihres amerikanischen Cousins.

Es gibt, soweit ich es erkennen kann, zwei Lager auf der Insel. Die einen sagen: Gott sei Dank haben wir das Pfund. Die anderen sagen: geschieht dem Kontinent recht. Alle zusammen sagen: Irgendwie ist Deutschland schuld.

Noch sind die Ratschläge, die von jenseits des Kanals kommen, recht disparat. Die einen fordern von den Deutschen, dass sie den Euro retten (in der stillen Hoffnung darauf, dass sich die Krauts die Finger verbrennen).

Doch im wesentlichen gibt der "Telegraph" die Richtung vor: Nicht Griechenland, sondern Deutschland ist das Problem und gehört ausgeschlossen aus der Euro-Zone. Im Ernst. Warum? Darum: Die Deutschen haben die Euro-Zone destabilisiert mit ihrer Lohndisziplin, ihrer rücksichtslosen Produktivität, die die sattsam bekannte Panzermentalität verrät. Der "Spectator" argumentiert ähnlich ("Schimpft nicht auf die Griechen"). Und die "Financial Times" stöhnt über die Deutschen, die "nicht wissen, was sie wollen". » | Matthias Matussek | Samstag 12. November 2011

Arab League Suspends Syria
CNN: Cairo -- The Arab League announced Saturday that it is suspending Syria's membership after its failure to stop the violence against its people.
The move takes effect Wednesday.

In an emergency session at its headquarters in Cairo, the league also called for sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad's regime but did not specify what those may be.

It called on member states to withdraw their ambassadors from Damascus, but that decision will be left up to each nation.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim read the league's decisions at a news conference after the meeting of the foreign ministers.

He said the league is urging the Syrian army to stop attacks on civilians and will hold a meeting with opposition groups in the next three days to discuss a transitional phase in Syria's future. » | CNN Wire Staff | Saturday, November 12, 2011

Geert Wilders will Rückkehr des Guldens prüfen

WELT ONLINE: Der niederländische Rechtspopulist Geert Wilders will mit einer Studie prüfen lassen, ob sich eine Rückkehr zum Gulden lohnt. Danach soll das Volk entscheiden.

Die rechtspopulistische niederländische Freiheitspartei (PVV) will einen Ausstieg des Landes aus dem Euro untersuchen lassen.

„Die Regierung macht uns Angst, indem sie uns sagt, das Licht werde im Fall eines Austritts aus dem Euro erlöschen. Natürlich kostet das Geld, aber ich will wissen, ob eine Rückkehr zum Gulden uns am Ende nicht mehr bringt“, sagte der PVV-Chef Geert Wilders der Zeitung „Telegraaf“.

Sollte die Studie „einer großen internationalen Firma“ belegen, dass eine Rückkehr zum Gulden von Vorteil sei, werde die PVV eine Volksabstimmung dazu beantragen. » | AFP/sara | Freitag 11. November 2011

DUTCHNEWS.nl: PVV investigates return of guilder, may call for referendum: The anti-Islam PVV is paying a 'renowned international bureau' to investigate whether bringing back the guilder would benefit the Dutch economy. ¶ If the report is positive, the party will press for a referendum on leaving the euro, party leader Geert Wilders says in Friday's Telegraaf. ¶ 'The cabinet is frightening us by telling us the lights will go out if we leave the euro. Of course it will cost money, but I want to know if going back to the guilder will deliver more in the long term,' Wilders told the paper. » | © DutchNews.nl | Friday, November 11, 2011

Forced Marriages in Germany More Prevalent than Thought

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: A new study has revealed that thousands of young women and girls in forced marriages seek help every year in Germany. The vast majority of victims come from Muslim families, and many have been threatened with violence or even death. The numbers involved are much higher than previously suspected.

More women and girls living in Germany are being forced into marriage under the threat of violence than previously thought, according to a new study released by the German government on Wednesday.

In 2008, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 3,443 people sought help at counseling and information centers because they had already been, or were being, forced into marriage. The vast majority of those victims were women or girls, but 6 percent were young men, who, like many of the women, sought help because they were threatened with violence if they did not go through with the marriage.

The new study was presented Wednesday in Berlin by Family Minister Kristina Schröder and the federal integration commissioner, Maria Böhmer, both members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union. "Those who force their children against their will to marry someone they don't love, or who is a complete stranger, are committing brutal violence against them," Schröder said in a statement.

The German human rights organization Terre des Femmes had previously estimated that in Germany more than a thousand women and girls from immigrant families seek help from counseling centers each year. Schröder has called for the issue of forced marriage to be discussed more in German schools. » | mbw -- with wires | Friday, November 11, 2011

Get a Grip Or I’m Out too, Says Obama

DAILY EXPRESS: BARACK Obama urged Germany and France to get a grip on the eurozone crisis yesterday amid fears it could wreck his re-election to the White House.

The US president urged Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy to act swiftly to halt the financial wrecking-ball that has hit Italy and Greece.

Already the latest joke in Washington is: “Who’s the only person who could defeat Obama next year? Angela Merkel.” » | Martyn Brown | Saturday, November 12, 2011

Kate Backs Wills Despite Argentine Death Threats
DAILY EXPRESS: THE Duchess of Cambridge was last night fully backing her husband William’s deployment to the Falkland Islands despite sick death threats.

As Argentina accused Britain of acting “aggressively and provocatively” by sending the Prince to the islands, websites in the South American country were inundated with threats to William.

Some vile posts even called for the Duke to be killed in revenge for Argentinian deaths during the Falklands conflict nearly 30 years ago. » | Mark Reynolds | Saturday, November 12, 2011

The Folk Memory that Makes Germany Reluctant to Act over the Euro

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A fear that inflation leads to nationalist extremism lingers in Berlin – but European unity will not die if the Germans allow the euro to fail, argues Daniel Johnson.

A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of German domination. As the Heath Robinson structures of the European Union buckle under the weight of their own contradictions, the question on everybody’s lips concerns the Germans. What will they do about the eurozone crisis? Will they try to save the dream of a federal Europe – or let it go up in a puff of smoke?

In the old days, what gave European statesmen nightmares was known as “the German Question”: once it was united by Bismarck, Germany was too big and powerful to be balanced by the other Continental powers. After starting two world wars, the division of Germany was seen as the price of peace in Europe. At the time, the French writer François Mauriac observed with heavy-handed irony: “I love Germany so much that I am glad there are two of them.”

Today the German Question has returned in a new form. Silvio Berlusconi, like other fallen European leaders from Bertie Ahern to George Papandreou, could be forgiven for blaming the Germans for his defenestration. These days it is the call from the Berlin Chancellery, rather than the White House or the Kremlin, that Europe’s weaker brethren dread.

I recall vividly an occasion in 1991, soon after the putsch against Margaret Thatcher, when she presided over a small dinner of sympathetic young intellectuals. I congratulated the former prime minister on her resolute stand in the Cold War, alongside Ronald Reagan, which had done so much to bring down the Berlin Wall. The Iron Lady’s face darkened. In her most imperious tone, she expostulated: “Are you saying that I am responsible for that?”

German reunification was – and is – her deepest regret. She welcomed the liberation of Eastern Europe from communism, but she feared European monetary union, or what her lieutenant Nicholas Ridley called “a German racket designed to take over the whole of Europe”.

Ironically, the Germans themselves have played to the gallery by suggesting that the alternative to the single currency may be war. “If the euro fails, Europe fails,” Chancellor Merkel told the Bundestag last week. “We have an historical obligation to protect by all means Europe’s unification process, begun by our forefathers after centuries of hatred and bloodshed.”

Angela Merkel is by no means alone in resorting to such hyperbole. Astonishingly, the doctrine that only European unification can prevent an atavistic return to the horrors of “nationalism” (for which read Nazism) has long been and remains the received wisdom in German political circles. » | Daniel Johnson | Thursday, November 10, 2011

It's not the Germans that worry me, it's the British with their xenophobic, anti-European, anti-EU, anti-euro rhetoric! From the articles and the comments on this newspaper, anyone would be forgiven for thinking that the Germans were our enemies! – © Mark

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Niger Grants Asylum to Saadi Gaddafi

THE GUARDIAN: Son of Muammar Gaddafi is being treated as refugee in Niger, confirms President Mahamadou Issoufou

Muammar Gaddafi's son Saadi has been granted asylum in Niger on humanitarian grounds, the country's president confirmed on Friday.

Mahamadou Issoufou insisted he knew nothing of the whereabouts of another of the slain Libyan leader's sons, Saif al-Islam, who is wanted by the international criminal court (ICC).

"We have agreed on granting asylum to Saadi Gaddafi for humanitarian reasons," Issoufou said during a visit to Pretoria in South Africa.

Saadi, 38, and other Libyans who fled with him into Niger were being treated as refugees, he added. "But we have told them very clearly they cannot engage in political or subversive activities." » | David Smith in Pretoria | Friday, November 11, 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Niger grants asylum to Saadi Gaddafi: Niger has risked the wrath of the new authorities in neighbouring Libya by granting asylum to Col Muammar Gaddafi's third son in defiance of an Interpol request for his extradition. ¶ Saadi Gaddafi, a bisexual playboy, was granted asylum on "humanitarian" grounds, the Niger president said, adding it was unlikely he would ever be extradited back to his home country. ¶ Saadi, who crossed into Niger in the last weeks of his father's regime, has been under house arrest in a state guest house in the capital, Niamey. » | Aislinn Lang, Pretoria | Friday, November 11, 2011

Human Rights Watch Calls for Syria to Face War Crimes

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Syrian security forces fired on anti-government protests on Friday, killing at least five people as Human Rights Watch accused the regime of crimes against humanity.

Mass protests after Friday afternoon prayers, followed by swift and deadly crackdowns by security forces, have become a weekly cycle throughout Syria's eight-month-old uprising. The U.N. estimates some 3,500 people have been killed in the crackdown since mid-March, when the uprising began.

But in recent weeks, the violence has spiked dramatically amid increasing signs that some protesters are taking up arms to protect themselves. There also have been reports of intense battles between soldiers and army defectors, setting the stage for even more bloodshed.

The unrest in Syria could balloon into a regional disaster. Damascus' web of allegiances extends to Lebanon's powerful Hizbollah movement and Iran's Shiite theocracy. And although Syria sees Israel as the enemy, the countries have held up a fragile truce for years.

On Friday, Human Rights Watch said Syrian forces have tortured and killed civilians in the rebellious province of Homs in an assault that indicates crimes against humanity. The group urged the Arab League to suspend Syria's membership during an emergency meeting on Saturday. » | Friday, November 11, 2011

170 Members of English Defence League Arrested Near Cenotaph in London
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: More than 170 members of the right-wing English Defence League (EDL) have been arrested near an Armistice Day ceremony in central London amid fears they were trying to target anti-capitalists camped in the city.


Scotland Yard said the group were detained "to prevent a breach of the peace" at a pub near the Cenotaph in Whitehall.

A police source said it was believed the group were heading towards the anti-capitalist "Occupy" protest camp outside St Paul's Cathedral, set up last month after being inspired by the "Occupy Wall Street" movement.

"170+ supporters of EDL were arrested this p.m. to prevent a breach of the peace," the Met Police said on its Twitter website. "No reported disorder between opposing groups at this stage."

Last year, members of the EDL, which stages protests against violent Islamism, clashed with police during a fracas at a Remembrance Day ceremony.

The trouble erupted then when members of the radical Muslims Against Crusades (MAC) group burned two large poppies outside the Royal Albert Hall in London during a two-minute silence. » | Friday, November 11, 2011

Bahrain Opposition Says Leader's House Tear-gassed
THE INDEPENDENT: Bahrain's largest opposition group says security forces have fired rubber bullets and tear gas at the house of its top leader during attempts to disperse anti-government protesters.

Al Wefaq said in a statement today that riot troops fired on the house of the group's leader, Ali Salman, during security sweeps last night in mostly Shiite villages around the capital, Manama. » | AP | Friday, November 11, 2011

France Plots Eurozone 'Breakaway Group’
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: France is drawing up plans to create a breakaway organisation of eurozone countries with its own treaty, parliament and headquarters – a move that could significantly undermine the existing European Union.

The proposal would see a formal "union within a union" created, but would lead to a significant deterioration in Britain's influence in Europe.

David Cameron is drawing up urgent plans to stop Britain being "railroaded" into agreeing to decisions taken by the new eurozone bloc.

France and Germany are understood to want to strengthen the union between eurozone countries with new taxes and legal measures to stop nations borrowing and spending too much in future.

Weaker countries such as Greece could even be barred from the new eurozone, under radical suggestions from some of those involved in discussions over the plan.

It comes amid growing concerns that France could be the next nation to become embroiled in the single currency crisis. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Thursday, November 10, 2011

Britain Falls Silent to Remember War Dead
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Millions of Britons have held a two-minute silence to remember the nation's war dead.


The tribute started at 11am, the time the guns on the Western Front fell silent at the end of the First World War in 1918.

Ceremonies nationwide commemorated fallen servicemen and women from both World Wars and later conflicts, including the 385 British personnel who have died since operations began in Afghanistan in 2001.

The silence was particularly poignant for those at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, who are mourning the loss of the latest soldier to die on active service. » | Friday, November 11, 2011 (11. 11.11.11)

Yémen: 5 morts et des dizaines de blessés par des tirs d’artillerie
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: GUERRE CIVILE | Les forces fidèles au président Ali Abdallah Saleh ont tué cinq personnes et blessé une dizaines d’autres vendredi matin à l’artillerie sur la ville de Taëz.

Les forces fidèles au président Ali Abdallah Saleh ont tiré vendredi matin à l’artillerie sur la ville de Taëz (sud-est), deuxième ville du Yémen, tuant cinq personnes et en blessant des dizaines d’autres, a-t-on appris de source médicale.

"Les bombardements ont fait cinq morts ce matin (vendredi), tous des civils, et des dizaines de blessés qui ont été transportés à l’hôpital", a précisé cette source. » | AFP | vendredi 11 novembre 2011