Nétanyahou très satisfait de Hollande

LE FIGARO: DÉCRYPTAGE - La «continuité» entre Nicolas Sarkozy et François Hollande sur la lutte contre l'antisémitisme et le nucléaire iranien a été particulièrement appréciée par le chef du gouvernement israélien.

Benyamin Nétanyahou est très satisfait de son premier contact avec François Hollande. Les deux hommes ne s'étaient croisés qu'une seule fois, en 2003, et encore très brièvement. Établir une bonne relation personnelle avec le président de la République était l'un des trois objectifs du premier ministre israélien pour cette visite à Paris.

Selon son entourage, Nétanyahou a trouvé Hollande «exceptionnellement ouvert et réceptif», «prêt à écouter» et «désireux de trouver des terrains d'entente». La «continuité» entre Nicolas Sarkozy et François Hollande, sur les deux questions prioritaires de la lutte contre l'antisémitisme et du dossier nucléaire iranien, a été particulièrement appréciée par le chef du gouvernement israélien. » | Par Pierre Rousselin | jeudi 01 novembre 2012

Minorities Fear End of Secularism in Egypt

SPIEGEL ONLINE INYERNATIONAL: When he took office as Egypt's new president in June, Mohammed Morsi pledged to follow a pluralist policy that respected the rights of women and non-Muslim minorities. But everything he has done since then indicates that he intends to replace the secularist dictatorship of his predecessor with an Islamist one.

Egypt's president sat cross-legged on a green rug with his eyes closed and hands raised in prayer. His lips moved as Futouh Abd al-Nabi Mansour, an influential Egyptian cleric, intoned: "Oh Allah, absolve us of our sins, strengthen us and grant us victory over the infidels. Oh Allah, destroy the Jews and their supporters. Oh Allah, disperse them, rend them asunder."

This was a Friday prayer service held in the western Egyptian port city of Marsa Matrouh on October 19. The words of this closing prayer, taken from a collection of sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, seemed quite familiar to Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's new president. A video clip obtained by the US-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) shows Morsi murmuring the word "amen" as this pious request for the dispersal of the Jews is uttered.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which backs Morsi, has since removed a note concerning the president's visit to Marsa Matrouh from its website, and the daily newspaper al-Ahram has reported that the president must have been "very embarrassed" over the matter. Are such statements enough to dispel the incident? » | Daniel Steinvorth and Volkhard Windfuhr | Translated from the German by Ella Ornstein | Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Egyptian Cleric Abu Islam Ahmad Abdallah Explains Why He Ripped Up the Bible The Internet - October 1, 2012

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Egyptian Cleric ‘Alaa Said Ridicules Christianity and Vows to Instate Islamic Law in Egypt Al-Rahma TV (Egypt) - October 15, 2012

Tausende demonstrieren in Kuwait

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Er sitzt seit mehreren Tagen im Gefängnis, Musallam al-Barrak wird Beleidigung des Emir vorgeworfen: In Kuwait haben Tausende Menschen für die Freilassung des Oppositionsführers demonstriert. Bei den Protesten kam es zu massiven Auseinandersetzungen mit der Polizei.

Kuwait - Das Ziel ihres Marsches war das Gefängnis: In Kuwait sind am Mittwoch Tausende Menschen auf die Straße gegangen, um gegen die Inhaftierung von Oppositionsführer Musallam al-Barrak zu demonstrieren. Die Polizei setzte Augenzeugen zufolge Tränengas und Rauchbomben gegen die Menge ein. » | hen/Reuters | Donnerstag, 01. November 2012

Several Dead in Riyadh Truck Explosion

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: At least 10 dead and 50 injured from explosion when truck carrying flammable liquids crashed in the Saudi capital.

At least 10 people were killed and another 50 injured when a truck carrying flammable liquids crashed in Riyadh causing a large explosion, according to Al Jazeera correspondents.

The truck exploded after it crashed into a concrete flyover in the Saudi capital on Thursday, said a civil defence official at the scene speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

An industrial building, several storeys high, was almost entirely destroyed by the blast while several nearby buildings were damaged, witness said. » | Source: Al Jazeera And Agencies | Thursday, November 01, 2012

Greek Journalists Being 'Muzzled by Government'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Greek journalists caught up in a wave of sackings and arrests believe they have be[en] targeted in a government drive to muzzle the press to prevent publication of a list of senior ministers who have taken bribes from the business sector.

Spiros Karatzaferis, a television presenter, became the latest journalist to face police action in the early hours of Wednesday morning when he was arrested hours after promising to reveal hacked treasury documents that would show Greek officials had systematically deceived the International Monetary Fund about the true state of the economy.

Mr Karatzaferis is the second high profile journalist to be arrested in a week, while a state broadcaster separately sacked two of his rivals for discussing other allegations against the government.

Kostas Vaxevanis, the first journalist arrested, faces court on Thursday morning on a charge of violating privacy laws for publishing the names of overseas bank account holders.

Mr Vaxevanis faces two years in prison for publishing the names and occupations of more than 2,000 Greeks allegedly holding accounts at the Swiss branch of HSBC.

Mr Vaxevanis told the Daily Telegraph that he was being sacrificed by a government manoeuvring behind the scenes to protect an unholy establishment alliance. "This is a selective prosecution," he said. "There is no Greek who believes that I am going [on] trial tomorrow, rather, it is the right that Greeks have to freedom of the press and the right to rock the system. Greece is run by a closed oligarchy of businessmen, politicians and controlled media groups. My publication of the list marked a confrontation, an extreme confrontation. » | Damien McElroy, Anthee Carassava in Athens | Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Turkey Given Reassurance by Germany on Talks
THE NEW YORK TIMES: BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany met with Turkey’s prime minister here on Wednesday and pledged that the European Union would continue to pursue talks “in good faith” over Turkey’s accession to the bloc, despite disagreements that have proved challenging for both sides.

“The E.U. is an honest negotiating partner,” Ms. Merkel said. “These negotiations will continue irrespective of the questions that we have to clarify.”

Her pledge came after the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, warned that the European Union stood in danger of losing Turkey if it was not granted membership by 2023.

“No other country has been kept waiting, knocking on the door of the E.U., for such a long time,” Mr. Erdogan told a gathering in Berlin late Tuesday, hours after he opened his country’s new embassy to Germany. An ever stronger economic and political force in the region, Turkey has been in negotiations to join the bloc since 1995, and some analysts have worried that a frustrated Turkey might shift from its Western focus to building stronger ties with Moscow and Tehran. » | Melissa Eddy and Chris Cottrell | Wednesday, October 31, 2012

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Erdogan Visit to Berlin Betrays Tensions: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday he wants Turkey to be a full member of the EU by 2023. Chancellor Angela Merkel assured him the talks would be "honest.' Their meeting in Berlin once again showed that relations between Turkey and Germany have become complicated. ¶ At the end of the news conference Angela Merkel narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. Her face seemed to say: What's he talking about? Next to her, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was talking about Cyprus. It was a mistake, he said, to allow "South Cyprus" into the European Union, and he added that the chancellor shared that view. » | With additional reporting by Christoph Sydow | Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Electrical Fire at Saudi Wedding Kills 25

BBC: At least 25 people have died and 30 others were hurt in a fire at a wedding in eastern Saudi Arabia, officials say.

Hundreds were inside the courtyard of a home in the village of Ain Badr, in the Abqaiq region, when the blaze began.

A high-voltage power line reportedly fell down and sent sparks flying after it was hit by celebratory gunfire.

The power line is also believed to have touched a metal door at the only exit from the courtyard, causing the electrocution of many of the victims.

Most of those killed and injured are reported to have been women.

The local newspaper al-Youm cited Civil Defence chief Gen Abdullah Khsheiman as saying a women-only marquee was set on fire. » | Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Discovery Channel - End of the USSR
Documentary about collapse of the Soviet Union


Part 3
Part 4

Sandy Leaves 145,000 Canadians Without Power, One Dead
REUTERS CANADA: (Reuters) - Sandy toppled trees and power lines in the Canadian province of Ontario, leaving at least 145,000 people without power on Tuesday, including 55,000 in Toronto, the country's financial center.

Strong winds whipped up debris, killing a Toronto woman on Monday.

The Toronto Stock Exchange was set to remain open, making it a North American island of equity trading for the second successive day, with U.S. stock markets closed.

Numerous flights on Air Canada, WestJet Airlines, Porter Airlines and other carriers between the U.S. Northeast and Toronto's Pearson International Airport and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport were canceled. » | Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Janet Guttsman | Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Hurrikan "Sandy": "Zerstörungen unvorstellbaren Ausmaßes"

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Der öffentliche Verkehr ist zusammengebrochen, Teile New Yorks sind überflutet: Nur allmählich kehrt Leben zurück in die Straßen der Stadt. Hurrikan "Sandy" dürfte Zerstörungen von historischem Ausmaß verursacht haben; besonders dramatisch ist die Lage im Bundesstaat New Jersey, sagte Gouverneur Christie.

New York - Es war vor einem Sturm der Superlative gewarnt worden, nun werden die Ausmaße seiner Zerstörungskraft allmählich messbar: Ersten Schätzungen zufolge beläuft sich die Schadenssumme auf zehn bis 20 Milliarden Dollar. Damit wäre "Sandy" eine der teuersten Naturkatastrophen in der Geschichte der USA.

Millionen Menschen an der Ostküste der USA waren am Montagabend zu Bett gegangen, ohne zu wissen, wie die Welt vor ihren Fenstern am nächsten Tag aussehen würde. Wenn sie denn überhaupt Schlaf finden konnten: Gegen acht Uhr am Abend war das Zentrum von "Sandy" auf die Küste New Jerseys getroffen, es folgte eine extrem stürmische Nacht.

Der Gouverneur von New Jersey, Chris Christie, zeigte sich bei einer Pressekonferenz schockiert über die Schäden in seinem Staat. "Das Ausmaß der Zerstörung an der Küste von New Jersey ist unvorstellbar", sagte er CNN. Die Behörden seien weit davon entfernt, den meisten Bewohnern die Rückkehr zu gestatten, sagte der Politiker. » | bim/dpa/Reuters/AP/AFP | Dienstag, 30. Oktober 2012

Tote und Milliardenschäden: Sandy trifft US-Ostküste heftig

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Wirbelsturm an US-Ostküste – "Sandy" hinterlässt Trümmer und Chaos: Mit dem neuen Tag wird an der US-Ostküste das Ausmaß der Zerstörung deutlich. Mindestens 16 Menschen sind durch Wirbelsturm "Sandy" gestorben, Millionen haben keinen Strom, allein in Queens wurden Dutzende Häuser zerstört. Experten rechnen mit Schäden von bis zu 20 Milliarden Dollar. » | wit/bim/dpa/AP | Dienstag, 30. Oktober 2012

Superstorm Sandy: Fire Rips Through Queens Destroying At Least 50 Homes
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A blaze swept through more than 50 homes in the New York City borough of Queens early on Tuesday in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.


The New York Fire Department said on its Twitter page that more than 50 homes had been "completely destroyed" by the six-alarm blaze.

Over 190 firefighters were at the blaze in the Breezy Point section. A fire department spokesman said two people have suffered minor injuries.

Fire officials say the blaze was reported around 11pm on Monday in an area flooded by the "superstorm" that began sweeping through earlier. » | Tuesday, October 30, 2012

WIKI: Queens, New York »

Occupy Protesters Were Right, Says Bank of England Official
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The anti-capitalist protesters who occupied St Paul’s Cathedral were both morally and intellectually right, a senior Bank of England official said last night.

Andrew Haldane, a member of the Bank’s financial policy committee, said the Occupy movement was correct in its attack on the international financial system.

The Occupy movement sprang up last year and staged significant demonstrations in both the City of London and New York, protesting about the unequal distribution of wealth and the influence of the financial services industry. Members of the movement occupied the grounds of St Paul’s and remained camped there for more than three months until police evicted them in February last year.

“Occupy has been successful in its efforts to popularise the problems of the global financial system for one very simple reason; they are right,” Mr Haldane said last night. Mr Haldane, the Bank’s executive director for financial stability, was speaking to Occupy Economics, an offshoot of the Occupy movement, at an event in central London.

In a speech entitled Socially Useful Banking, he said the protesters had helped bring about a “reformation” in financial services and the way they are regulated.

Partly because of the protests, he suggested, both bank executives and policymakers were persuaded that banks must behave in a more moral way, and take greater account of inequality in wider society. » | James Kirkup, Deputy Political Editor | Monday, October 29, 2012

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Turkish Police Use Teargas to Break Up Pro-secular March
Police in the Turkish capital Ankara use teargas and water cannons against an illegal protest marking the foundation of the secular Turkish republic. Opposition to the Islamic-leaning government fear that the country's secular tradition is under threat, and so defied the ban marching to the mausoleum of Mustafa Atatürk, Turkey's first president