Stalin's Daughter Who Defected to US Dies at 85

THE GUARDIAN: Svetlana Peters, who denounced communism after the cold war, has died after living out her remaining years in seclusion

Josef Stalin's daughter, who denounced communism after defecting during the cold war, has died in the US after living out her remaining years there in seclusion.

Svetlana Peters, whose quest to find her own identity saw the only daughter and last surviving child of the dictator take on three names, had described her father as "a moral and spiritual monster" after the CIA helped her to escape the Soviet Union in 1967 which caused a diplomatic furore.

Born Svetlana Stalina, she adopted her mother's last name, Alliluyeva, following her father's death in 1953. But she ended her life as Lana Peters – the identity she adopted after claiming political asylum in the US.

After living many years in the public eye, she spent her final days in seclusion. She died of colon cancer on 22 November in Richland County, South Carolina, it emerged. She was 85.

Frequently moving countries, sampling religions from Hinduism to Christian science, the four-times married Peters lived a life which could grace the pages of any novel, and saw her tales inside the Soviet Union earn her two best-selling autobiographies. » | Staff and agencies | Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Herman Cain Accused of 13-year Affair with Businesswoman

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Herman Cain has been accused of having a 13-year affair with a businesswoman, providing a potentially lethal blow to a presidential bid already faltering under the weight of repeated sexual allegations.

The former pizza executive strenuously denied the detailed claims made by Ginger White, a woman he described as "an acquaintance who I thought was a friend".

Miss White said they met after a business presentation by Mr Cain in the late 1990s and that for more than a decade he had flown her to cities around the United States where they had sex in upmarket hotels.

The single mother of two said that their physical relationship had ended eight months ago, shortly before he declared his presidential bid, but that they had spoken as recently as September.

Her mobile phone bills showed she had contact with him 61 times in recent months, often receiving calls or texts in the early hours of the morning.

"He made it very intriguing. It was fun. It was something that took me away from my humdrum life at the time," she told Fox Atlanta. » | Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Egyptians Head to Polls for Second Day

Islamic Schools Flourish to Meet Demand

THE GUARDIAN: Demand for Islamic education in England is growing fast and schools – official and unofficial – are springing up to meet it. Now some local authorities are concerned that there is insufficient regulation

At about eight o'clock on a dull autumnal morning, a mother is preparing breakfast for her young son in the kitchen of an unassuming private house on a little modern estate in Leicester. The doorbell rings. Outside, a series of people carriers and estate cars are rolling up one by one; out of them tumbling a succession of children in twos and threes, all in traditional Islamic dress.

By 8.30, 26 children – some of them only just old enough for school, some almost grown – are sitting in tight rows on the floor of a little inner room, reciting morning prayers in Arabic and in English. By 9.30, the conservatory has become an infant classroom, the dining room has been taken over by the juniors and in the living room, year 7 and 8 girls are preparing to spread their geography projects across the laminate flooring.

By now, the mother has vanished – she doesn't want her name or address to be used, she says, because already families are turning up at odd hours asking to look round the "school" – and Fatima D'Oyen, director of Manara Education, has taken charge with her small team of staff.

There's no doubting that the Manara academy is a most unusual educational institution. But it's also part of a national trend. Although the number of Islamic schools is still small – around 140 at the latest count, just 12 of them state-funded – it is growing fast. About 60 of these schools have opened in the last 10 years; several in the last couple of months. And the demand from parents seems to be huge – one school in Birmingham recently attracted 1,500 applications for just 60 places. At least five Islamic schools have recently applied to be free schools, although so far only one has been approved.

Manara is one of two Islamic schools that have opened in Leicester this autumn – although in its case, the word "school" can only be used loosely. Manara operates just three mornings a week, and its pupils are registered as home-educated. » | Fran Abrams | Monday, November 28, 2011

Hasn't He Done Well! John Bercow Unveils His £37,000 Portrait and Coat of Arms Complete with Ladder, Rainbow and Pink Triangles

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: John Bercow has unveiled his official coat of arms, dominated by a ladder to represent his climb to the top and a rainbow and pink triangles to mark his support for homosexual issues.

The Speaker of the House of Commons also revealed his new official portrait by British artist Brendan Kelly, depicting him rising from his Speaker's chair and motioning towards the Government benches.

The total bill to the taxpayer is £37,000, prompting criticism from value for money campaigners, who said it was “very excessive at a time of public sector austerity” and only aimed at “boosting John Bercow’s ego”.

Mr Bercow’s official coat of arms sits in the frame of his portrait. It is dominated by a ladder, four roundels and two curved ‘seax’ knives.

The ladder represents Mr Bercow’s ascent from humble beginnings, as the son of a taxi driver in north London. He went to a comprehensive, before entering Parliament as MP for Buckingham and becoming Speaker in 2009.

The roundels mark Mr Bercow’s fondness for tennis – he is a qualified lawn tennis coach – and also represent his role as ex officio chairman of the Boundaries Commission of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The seax knives, which were traditionally worn by Saxon warriers over 1,000 years ago, represent Mr Bercow’s attachment to Essex.

He went to university in the county, graduating in 1985 with a first class degree in Government.

The rainbow colours and pink triangles mark Mr Bercow's championing of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans-sexual people. They sit between his motto: “All Are Equal”.

The red and blue colours, as well as the gold colour of the roundels, represent the three main parties in the House of Commons. » | Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent | Monday, November 28, 2011

La gangrène menace Seif al-Islam s’il n’est pas soigné

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le fils de Mouammar Kadhafi, arrêté le 19 novembre et blessé à la main droite, pourrait développer une gangrène si ses blessures ne sont pas soignées, a déclaré lundi le médecin ukrainien qui l’a examiné.

Seif al-Islam Kadhafi, fils de l’ancien dirigeant libyen arrêté le 19 novembre dans le sud du pays, pourrait développer une gangrène si ses blessures ne sont pas soignées, a déclaré lundi le médecin ukrainien qui l’a examiné.

"Ses blessures sont graves mais quand je les ai vues, elles n’étaient pas gangrenées. Elles peuvent le devenir si elles ne sont pas soignées", a déclaré le Dr Andreï Mourakhovsky, qui a fait un pansement à la main droite du prisonnier au lendemain de son arrestation.

Une semaine après cette première visite, le Dr Mourakhovsky a exprimé son inquiétude: "J’avais été appelé par le conseil militaire. J’ai nettoyé la blessure et j’ai fait un pansement. Maintenant, il faut refaire un nouveau pansement. Le chef du conseil militaire a dit qu’il allait m’appeler mais ils ne l’ont toujours pas fait". » | AFP | lundi 28 novembre 2011

Deutschland, «einmal mehr»

TAGES ANZEIGER: Im verzweifelten Kampf um die Eurorettung brechen Jahrhunderte alte Gräben wieder auf: Briten und Franzosen zeichnen das Bild des hässlichen Deutschen.

Im Ringen um die Eurorettung liegen die Nerven in Europa blank. So blank, dass die Stimmung hie und da gehässig wird – insbesondere in Grossbritannien und Frankreich gegen die deutsche Regierung, die sich nicht für eine EZB-Aktion oder für Eurobonds aussprechen will. Dabei brechen Animositäten hervor, die man für überholt hielt: Deutschland wird zum Kriegsherrn stilisiert, der es im letzten Jahrhundert zweimal war. «Da wird mit uralten Stereotypen gearbeitet», sagt Joachim Knape, Professor für Allgemeine Rhetorik an der Universität Tübingen.

So schreibt etwa der französische Ökonom und frühere Regierungsberater Jacques Attali, Deutschland sei «einmal mehr verantwortlich für den Selbstmord des fortschrittlichsten Kontinents der Welt», falls es dem Anleihenkauf der EZB nicht zustimme. Deutschland halte dazu «die Waffe in der Hand». «Der Aufstieg des Vierten Reichs» » | Von Olivia Kühni | Montag 28. November 2011

Racist Rant of Mother Captured on Camera Phone Shocks Tram Passengers
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The racist rant of a young mother on a busy tram has caused an outpouring of outrage from across Britain.

The unidentified mother was filmed holding her toddler son on her lap while abusing black passengers.

The expletive-filled video shows the white mother on a tram screaming abuse at passengers on the Croydon to Wimbledon service in South London.

The brunette mother blasts black, Polish and foreign commuters with a hate-filled tirade demanding they "go back to their own country", saying that they are not British.

The footage has been viewed thousands of times by internet users - with many reacting angrily and calling for the woman to be arrested and charged. » | Monday, November 28, 2011

Disgusting Racist Rant »

Whatever has become of the refined English lady and gentleman of yore? This is the language of the sewer; and the mentality of a Nazi! Disgusting! – © Mark

Kuwaiti Emir to Hold Crisis Meeting After Three Ministers Quit Over Protests

THE GUARDIAN: Newspaper reports government could resign before demonstration demanding PM resign over corruption allegations

Kuwait's ruler will hold an emergency meeting with his cabinet to try to avert a possible government collapse after three ministers resigned amid growing protests, a Kuwaiti newspaper said.

Kuwaiti daily newspaper al-Watan said the government could submit its resignation to the emir on Monday morning before protesters plan a large demonstration against the government.

"His Highness the emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah will head a cabinet meeting to end the current crisis between the legislative and the executive authorities," Watan reported, citing special sources.

The paper said at least three ministers, including the minister of justice, minister of health and minister of state for development affairs, had resigned because they were unhappy with the government's performance. » | Reuters in Kuwait | Monday, November 28, 2011

Tehran Votes to Expel Britain's Ambassador
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Iran erupted in a fresh frenzy of animosity towards its old imperial foe on Sunday as MPs chanting "death to England" voted to expel Britain's ambassador to Tehran and threatened his mission with a reprise of the 1979 hostage crisis.

Dominic Chilcott, who took up the position of ambassador just a month ago, could be forced to leave the country within weeks after a motion to downgrade Iran's diplomatic ties with Britain was passed overwhelmingly by the Islamist republic's parliament.

The step was taken after Britain, Canada and the United States announced fresh sanctions against Iran last week in the wake of a report by UN weapons inspectors which provided the most compelling case yet that Tehran is trying to build a nuclear bomb.

Britain was singled out, however, after it became the first state to impose direct sanctions on Iran's central bank. Financial institutions in the City were also banned from doing business with their Iranian counterparts.

Despite pressure from Israel, Washington has baulked at following suit, arguing that such a step would cause deep financial pain for ordinary Iranians and could cause the price of oil to soar. If its central bank faced widespread international sanctions, Iran would find it virtually impossible to import and export oil, food and other commodities except on the black market.

It is the first time in the UK's postwar history that Britain has imposed a total boycott on the entire banking industry of a foreign state.

Iranian MPs were incandescent in their fury towards Britain, known by many in Iran as "the Old Fox". After announcing that the motion had been carried by 171 votes to three, Ali Larijani, the hawkish speaker, warned that even tougher penalties would be imposed on Britain, saying: "this is just the beginning of the road." Read on and comment » | Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Sunday, November 17, 2011

New Dark Age: Muslim Medical Students Boycotting Lectures on Evolution... Because It 'Clashes with the Koran'

MAIL ON SUNDAY: Muslim students, including trainee doctors on one of Britain's leading medical courses, are walking out of lectures on evolution claiming it conflicts with creationist ideas established in the Koran.

Professors at University College London have expressed concern over the increasing number of biology students boycotting lectures on Darwinist theory, which form an important part of the syllabus, citing their religion.

Similar to the beliefs expressed by fundamentalist Christians, Muslim opponents to Darwinism maintain that Allah created the world, mankind and all known species in a single act.

Steve Jones emeritus professor of human genetics at university college London has questioned why such students would want to study biology at all when it obviously conflicts with their beliefs.

He told the Sunday Times [£]: 'I had one or two slightly frisky discussions years ago with kids who belonged to fundamentalist Christian churches, now it is Islamic overwhelmingly.

'They don't come [to lectures] or they complain about it or they send notes or emails saying theyshouldn't have to learn this stuff.

'What they object to - and I don't really understand it, I am not religious - they object to the idea that there is a random process out there which is not directed by God.' » | Daily Mail Reporter | Sunday, November 27, 2011

Newt Gingrich Wins New Hampshire Union Leader Endorsement

THE GUARDIAN: Newspaper snubs Mitt Romney six weeks ahead of Republican primary and backs former Speaker of House of Representatives

The influential New Hampshire Union Leader newspaper has endorsed Newt Gingrich as the Republican party's presidential candidate, snubbing favourite Mitt Romney six weeks before voters in the state cast their ballots in one of the first Republican primaries.

"We are in critical need of the innovative, forward-looking strategy and positive leadership that Gingrich has shown he is capable of providing," the state's largest newspaper wrote in a Sunday editorial which promoted Gingrich while delivering Romney a discreet rebuke.

"We don't back candidates based on popularity polls or big-shot backers. We look for conservatives of courage and conviction who are independent-minded, grounded in their core beliefs about this nation and its people, and best equipped for the job," the newspaper said. » | Associated Press | Sunday, November 27, 2011

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Now Scared, Alone and Pondering His Fate

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, held in a secret location by the men of Zintan who his family fought, must wonder if he will get a fair trial - and then execution.

There are no books, and no television. More importantly perhaps, for a partygoer used to shooting weekends at country houses and birthday celebrations, there is no company.

In an anonymous concrete house, in the back streets of the mountain stronghold of Zintan, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi sits alone, with no access yet to a lawyer, friends, or even the four men captured with him.

"For sure, he is just sitting there, thinking about his fate," Osama Jueili, the head of the Zintan Brigade and the man responsible for Saif al-Islam's security, told The Sunday Telegraph.

He does have 20 brigade men on permanent station to guard him. It is doubtful they have much in common with the man who pursued the bright lights of Europe in white tie and tails and once thought he was destined to rule over them.

The capture of the late dictator's son was a happy moment for Libya. A clean operation, it was performed without the bloodlust attendant on his father, Muammar, and brother, Mutassim.

Yet unlike their deaths, Saif al-Islam's fate will linger in the international consciousness for months as he is brought to trial and, most likely, convicted and hanged. Endless questions will be raised – not least by his own lawyers – about his character, his relationship to his father, and his close contacts with politicians and businessmen like Tony Blair, and fellow partygoers Peter Mandelson, Nathaniel Rothschild and Oleg Deripaska.

The process will be a test too of the stability of the new Libya, and of whether a country held in thrall to the whim of one man can unite to the difficult cause of building peaceful, prosperous institutions. » | Richard Spencer, Zintan | Sunday, November 27, 2011

Niall Ferguson Threatens to Sue over Accusation of Racism

THE GUARDIAN: Historian claims writer Pankaj Mishra accused him of racism and must apologise or face court action

It has been an intellectual spat of some savagery, so far largely confined to the refined pages of one of Britain's most respected literary magazines.

This weekend, however, it seems ever more likely that a court will have to adjudicate between the historian Niall Ferguson and writer Pankaj Mishra over Ferguson's claim that he had been accused of being a "racist".

Indeed, not since VS Naipaul and Paul Theroux fell out has there been a spat like this in the letters pages of a literary journal. A new exchange of correspondence in the current London Review of Books, triggered by Mishra's review of the Harvard professor's latest book Civilization, which Ferguson claims was "defamatory", is evidence that the row is becoming more intense.

In his letter Ferguson charges Mishra of being "in full and ignominious retreat", condemning both Mishra and the LRB for refusing to apologise. » | Peter Beaumont | Saturday, November 26, 2011

Islamists in Morocco Election Claim 'Historic' Vote Breakthrough

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Morocco's moderate Islamists said today that they were poised for an unprecedented electoral win.

Morocco's moderate Islamists are the latest religious party to achieve spectacular gains on the back of the Arab Spring.

A month after Islamists won Tunisia's post-revolution election and days before their predicted surge in Egyptian polls, their Moroccan counterparts claimed to have achieved a similar breakthrough without bloodshed.

With official results expected Sunday, the Justice and Development Party (PJD) – a moderate Islamist movement which accepts the monarchy – said its own figures gave it a clear edge.

"The figures which we have allow us to say that we will have over 100 seats" out of the 395 in parliament, PJD parliamentary bloc leader Lahcen Daoudi said, adding that his party notched up wins in rural areas where it had little traditional support.

"We have already won over 80 seats and I can tell you that we will easily have over 100 seats. This is a historic turning point," added Mustapha el Khelfi, the managing editor of Attajdid, the PJD's mouthpiece. » | Saturday, November 26, 2011

My comment:

What’s all this talk about “moderate Islamism”? Now that’s an oxymoron if ever I heard one! Islam is not given to moderation; Islamism still less so! What a load of tosh! They might well appear moderate on the surface, and at the start; but just wait! They’ll soon show just how moderate they are. – © Mark

Related »

New Zealand Election: John Key Wins Second Term as Prime Minister

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: John Key, the New Zealand prime minister, promised voters 'a brighter future' after his centre-right National party was swept back to power in a general election on Saturday.

During a victory speech to ecstatic supporters chanting "three more years", Mr Key said: "We have been given the trust and goodwill of New Zealanders.

"I do not take that trust for granted, and I never will.

"Tonight New Zealanders voted for a brighter future, and there will be a brighter future."

Mr Key alluded to some of the major issues he had faced during his first term in office, such as the destructive Christchurch earthquakes and the Pike River coal mine disaster.

"Over the past 15 months, New Zealand has experienced more than its fair share of challenges, but as a country we have risen to them," he said.

"We have shown that in the worst of times you have seen the very best of New Zealanders."

In an interview later, he renewed his commitment to returning the government's books to surplus by 2014 and addressing the controversial topic of welfare reform. » | Paul Chapman, Wellington | Saturday, November 16, 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Smiling Assassin »

DIE PRESSE: Neuseeland: Konservative vor Wahlsieg im plötzlichen Auswanderungsland » | Manuela Kornell | Freitag 25. November 2011

Early Results Show Islamist Party Lead in Morocco
BRADENTON HERALD: Election results for the first 50 seats in Morocco's parliament announced by the state news agency early Saturday suggest a moderate Islamist party is taking 40 percent of the vote.

With just a fraction of the results for the 395-seat Parliament reported, the opposition Justice and Development Party looks to have dramatically increased its share.

Party Secretary General Abdelilah Benkirane said late Friday that by its own estimates, his party had come in first.

According to the new constitution, the party with the most seats gets first crack at forming a new government, so if the trend continues, the Islamists must find coalition partners willing to work with them.

In recent years Morocco's Islamists have cultivated an image as honest outsiders battling corruption and seeking to improve services, rather than focusing on moral issues such as the women's headscarf.

Morocco, a close U.S. ally and popular European tourist destination suffers from high unemployment and widespread poverty.

If the Islamists do end up winning the most seats, that would appear to confirm a trend of victories by Islamist parties in elections prompted by the Arab Spring, following Ennahda's win last month in Tunisia. Read on and comment » | PAUL SCHEMM, Associated Press | Saturday, November 26, 2011
LE MONDE: Les islamistes revendiquent la victoire électorale au Maroc » | Isabelle Mandraud, envoyée spéciale au Maroc | samedi 26 novembre 2011

Zapatero und die Medien: Verdiente Ruhe

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Kaum ist der spanische Ministerpräsident Zapatero abgewählt, fallen die Medien über ihn her. Egal ob Freund, ob Feind: Der Sozialist wird verhöhnt und verteufelt. Nur von einem nicht.

Es ist nicht leicht, eine angemessene Vorstellung von der Abneigung und Verachtung zu geben, welche die rechten spanischen Medien - Presse, Radio, Fernsehen - gegenüber José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero über die letzten acht Jahre an den Tag gelegt haben. Es ist auch nicht leicht, in Spanien über „links“ und „rechts“ zu reden, aber davon gleich. Alle Arten von Witzen, Wortspielen und Namensverdrehungen waren gängige Münze, um den sozialistischen Ministerpräsidenten zu verhöhnen, tagaus, tagein.

Auf dem Cover eines Buchs erschien Zapatero mit gefährlich funkelnden grünen Augen, langen Ohren und übertrieben spitzen Augenbrauen, als sei er der leibhaftige Teufel. Die „Augenbrauen des Präsidenten“ mit Hilfe von Photoshop als verräterisches Signal des Bösen schlechthin zu nehmen lag für eine klerikale Wählerschaft durchaus nahe, die der Regierungschef durch seine Gesetze zu Schwulenehe und Express-Scheidung brüskiert hatte. Sogar die spanischen Bischöfe gingen auf die Straße. » | PAUL INGENDAAY | Donnerstag 24. November 2011

A Bible Is a Thing of Beauty: Gove to Send One St James Text to Every School in Move Blasted as 'Unacceptable Waste of Money'
MAIL ONLINE: The Prime Minister will send every school in Britain a copy of the King James Bible – complete with a foreword by the Education Secretary Michael Gove.

Mr Gove said the Bible was the most ‘important book written in the English language’ and had major cultural and historical significance.

But the move is highly controversial with non-religious groups condemning it as an unacceptable waste of public money.

Critics also mocked the project on Twitter with former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott describing it as Mr Gove’s ‘vanity project’.

The Department for Education confirmed that the Bibles will be sent out to over 20,000 schools to mark the 400th anniversary of it[s] translation.

Supporters said the book will help school pupils of all faiths to take pride in the history and culture of Britain.

Government ministers have always been careful to avoid controversies surrounding religion with Tony Blair’s former communications chief Alastair Campbell famously once declaring: ‘We don’t do God’.

But Mr Gove said: ‘It‘s a thing of beauty, and it‘s also an incredibly important historical artefact. It has helped shape and define the English language and is one of the keystones of our shared culture. And it is a work that has had international significance’. Continue reading and comment » | Kirsty Walker | Saturday, November 26, 2011

Prepare for Riots in Euro Collapse, Foreign Office Warns
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: British embassies in the eurozone have been told to draw up plans to help British expats through the collapse of the single currency, amid new fears for Italy and Spain.

As the Italian government struggled to borrow and Spain considered seeking an international bail-out, British ministers privately warned that the break-up of the euro, once almost unthinkable, is now increasingly plausible.

Diplomats are preparing to help Britons abroad through a banking collapse and even riots arising from the debt crisis.

The Treasury confirmed earlier this month that contingency planning for a collapse is now under way.

A senior minister has now revealed the extent of the Government’s concern, saying that Britain is now planning on the basis that a euro collapse is now just a matter of time.

“It’s in our interests that they keep playing for time because that gives us more time to prepare,” the minister told the Daily Telegraph.

Recent Foreign and Commonwealth Office instructions to embassies and consulates request contingency planning for extreme scenarios including rioting and social unrest. » | James Kirkup, Deputy Political Editor | Friday, November 25, 2011

THE GUARDIAN: Eurozone looks to International Monetary Fund as contagion spreads: • Italian and Spanish bond yields reach new highs • Belgium downgraded by S&P credit-rating agency » | David Gow in Brussels and Giles Tremlett in Madrid | Friday, November 25, 2011