Petraeus Testifies in Benghazi Attack Inquiry
The US Congress continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the attack on the US consulate in Libya two months ago. Former CIA director David Petraeus - fresh from a scandal about an extra-marital affair - has been testifying behind closed doors. Al jazeera's John Terrett has the latest from Washington DC.

Malaria Makes a Comeback in Southern Greece
Forty-years since the last recorded case of malaria in Greece, the disease everyone thought was a thing of the past is back. There have been 28 cases among the Greek population in the southern agricultural land of Laconia in the last year alone. Higher temperatures caused by global warming and the economic crisis have both contributed to the resurgence. Al Jazeera's Simon McGregor Wood reports from Laconia, Southern Greece.

India Hangs Mumbai Attacker
India has hanged the only Pakistani fighter to have survived the 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people. Mohammad Ajmal Kasab was hanged hours after President Pranab Mukherjee rejected a mercy plea. It is the first time the death sentence has been carried out in India since 2004. Al Jazeera's Sohail Rahman reports from New Delhi.

Al Jazeera's Cairo Bureau Firebombed by Egyptian Protesters

Anschlag in Tel Aviv
Im Zentrum von Tel Aviv ist es zu einem Bombenanschlag auf einen Bus gekommen. Laut Angaben von Rettungskräften wurden dabei mindestens zehn Menschen verletzt. Drei von ihnen offenbar schwer. Israel spricht von einem terroristischen Akt. Einschätzungen von SF-Korrespondent Pascal Weber.

Women Bishops: The Church Has Lost Credibility in Society, Says Archbishop
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned the Church of England it has a “lot of explaining to do” after the rejection of plans for women bishops.


In a measured but devastating address to the General Synod, Dr Rowan Williams said that there was no doubt the church has “lost credibility” in society because of the vote.

He acknowledged that to many it would appear that the Synod was being held “hostage” by certain minority groups opposed to change.

And he said that, irrespective of rules preventing the measure coming back for debate for several years, “parking” it would not be an option.

His comments came after almost three quarters of the General Synod voted in favour of allowing women to become bishops but the measure fell short of final approval by just six votes in one strand of the Synod, the House of Laity. » | John Bingham, Religious Affairs Editor, and Richard Alleyne | Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Mali : le touriste enlevé est français
lePARISIEN.fr: L'Européen enlevé mardi soir au Mali est bien de nationalité française selon des sources concordantes. Un peu plus tôt dans la matinée, on avait appris qu'un Européen parlant français avait été enlevé dans la localité de Diema, dans l'ouest du pays.

Cet homme, Jules Berto Rodriguez Léal, enlevé par plusieurs hommes armés mardi soir vers 22 heures locales à Diéma, est «né le 18 juillet 1951 à Laurichal» au Portugal, mais est «de nationalité française», selon l'Agence mauritanienne d'information (AMI) et une source sécuritaire malienne. » | Ava Djamshidi | mercredi 21 novembre 2012

Britain's EU Wavering: What Cameron Doesn't Know Could Hurt You

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Does Britain have a future as a member of the European Union? Prime Minister David Cameron doesn't have an answer to that question -- and that is a problem. His threats to veto the EU budget and efforts at securing a special status for his country are both undignified and dangerous.

David Cameron's favorite toy while attending European Union summit meetings is his BlackBerry. He glances at it constantly, almost as though he thinks it can provide him with guidance. Unfortunately, it cannot.

EU heads of state and government are gathering in Brussels this Thursday for talks on the 27-nation club's next budget, set to cover the years from 2014 to 2020. And Cameron, the British prime minister, has threatened to torpedo negotiations if the €1 trillion spending plan submitted by the European Commission isn't drastically cut. » | A Commentary by Christoph Scheuermann | Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Salafists Take Responsibility for Gaza Rockets
THE JERUSALEM POST: Gaza groups opposed to Hamas admit firing rockets at Israel, while Salafists from Sinai are aiding Hamas's military wing.

Gaza-based Salafist-Jihadists with ties to al-Qaida have claimed responsibility for perpetrating several of the recent rocket attacks against Israel, according to statements published by several jihadist groups in the past days.

The Gaza-based jihadi group Jaish al-Ummah published two statements on jihadist forums on Monday claiming responsibility for a series of attacks against Israel. » | Joanna Paraszczuk | Tuesday, November 20, 2012

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Ariel Sharon's Son Gilad Calls on Israel to 'Flatten Gaza'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Gilad Sharon, the son of Ariel Sharon the former Israeli prime minister who was felled by a stoke in 2005, called on the country's armed forced to crush terrorism in Gaza by laying siege to the Palestinian territory.

Mr Sharon, an activist for the opposition Kadima party said that Israel's south would only be calm when Israel would be able to declare total victory over Hamas and other radical groups in the city.

Otherwise the alternative would be to reoccupy the territory that his father ordered a withdrawal from in 2005. To do so the army should unleash an all-out assault. "Flatten all of Gaza. The Americans didn't stop with Hiroshima – the Japanese weren't surrendering fast enough, so they hit Nagasaki, too," he wrote in the Jerusalem Post.

Mr Sharon, who is also a major in Israel's reserve forces, said the government should force the leadership of Gaza to capitulate by cutting off all supplies.

"There should be no electricity in Gaza, no gasoline or moving vehicles, nothing. Then they'd really call for a ceasefire," he wrote. » | Damien McElroy | Monday, November 19, 2012

Leaving the EU Would Be an Economic 'Disaster', Ken Clarke Has Said
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Britain must stop having a "nervous breakdown" over Europe as it would be a economic "disaster" to leave the EU, Ken Clarke has said.

The Cabinet minister said any suggestion the UK could leave the EU is "damaging our influence" in the world.

Speaking on the BBC's Today Programme, he said he does not "remotely believe" the Prime Minister is planning to take Britain out of the EU, despite eurosceptic pressure from backbench MPs.

"We are going through a very curious stage in the national debate," he said. "In the last 20 years the country gets near to having a nervous breakdown on the subject every now and again. David Cameron assures the public, he’s always assured me, that he believes, as I do, that Britain’s place in the modern world has got to be in the EU.

"It would be a disaster for our influence in global political events. It would be a disaster for the British economy, if we were to leave the EU. It damages our influence in these great critical events of the moment if we keep casting doubt on our continued membership." » | Rowena Mason, Political Correspondent | Monday, November 19, 2012

'Martyrs for the Conservative Revolution': Mass-Murderer Breivik Writes Neo-Nazi Zschäpe

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Norwegian mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik has written a letter to Beate Zschäpe, the last surviving member of Germany's neo-Nazi terrorist cell the National Socialist Underground. In the text obtained by SPIEGEL, Breivik praises Zschäpe for her alleged crimes and says she should be "extremely proud."

Anders Behring Breivik, the right-wing extremist who is serving a maximum sentence for the murder of 77 people in premeditated attacks that devastated Norway in July 2011, is interested in establishing contact Germany's most famous neo-Nazi. SPIEGEL has learned that he sent a letter to Beate Zschäpe, the only surviving member of the German neo-Nazi terrorist group known as the National Socialist Underground (NSU).

Zschäpe, who stands accused of acting as an accessory to murder on 10 counts, currently awaits trial in police custody at a prison in Cologne. That is where Breivik addressed his letter to Zschäpe on May 7, offering his support for what he called their common cause. » | kla/SPIEGEL | Monday, November 19, 2012

From Wedding Dress to Suicide Vest

THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: Aminat Kurbanova, 29, of Dagestan, seen smiling on wedding day in 2003 / Brought up as an Orthodox Christian and met husband at drama college / But she converted to Islam in 2007 and blew herself up three months ago / Brother-in-law introduced her to Islam but later died; as did her husband

Brought up as an Orthodox Christian by her mother, Aminat Kurbanova looked a picture of happiness at her wedding nine years ago - marrying the man with whom she had fallen in love at drama school.

But she converted to Islam in 2007 and three months ago walked into the house of a Muslim cleric in Dagestan, Russia, wearing a 3lb bomb, and blew herself up - killing eight people including her.

Once a stage actress, the 29-year-old mother had transformed into a Muslim suicide bomber. The blast shocked Russia but her mother Vera Saprighina insists she was ‘a kind person, not a monster’.

Kurbanova was brought up in Makhachkala, Dagestan, and gained top marks at the city’s arts and drama college - where she met her future husband Marat Kurbanov, reported the Sunday Times [£].

The couple married in 2003 and she gave birth to a daughter, Malika, two years later. In 2006 the couple were introduced to Islam by Marat’s brother Rustam - and Kurbanov converted a year later.

‘She said she had finally found the right religion for her,’ her mother Vera Saprighina told the Sunday Times. ‘Before long, both left the theatre because dancing and acting are considered un-Islamic.’

But Rustam was killed in a police house raid on suspected militants in 2008. It shocked the couple. Marat left home, never to come back, and is thought to have joined militants to avenge the death. How Russian Islamic convert kissed her daughter goodbye and blew herself up at cleric's home » | Mark Duell | Sunday, November 18, 2012

Qatada Intends to Sue for £10million Says His Family: Hate Preacher Wants Compensation for Years Spent behind Bars

THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: Abu Qatada has told his family that he plans to sue the British government for £10million for ‘unlawful detention’.

The hate preacher has said he wants compensation for his ‘extended mistreatment’ after a judge released him from jail last week and blocked his deportation to Jordan to face terror charges.

Qatada was awarded a far smaller payout from the European Court of Human Rights three years ago after judges ruled he had been unfairly detained in Belmarsh high security jail without trial.

But the cleric’s family said that his hopes of a much larger compensation win have been boosted after the special immigration court ruled last Monday that there was a real risk that evidence obtained through torture might be used against him if he was sent home to Jordan to face trial.

The cleric, once described by a judge as Osama Bin Laden’s ambassador in Europe, has been bailed to his family home in London after spending much of the past seven years behind bars.

Qatada lives in North London with his wife and five children on state handouts said to total £1,000 a month. » | Tom Kelly | Sunday, November 18, 2012

Marco Rubio Leads Way for 2016 Republican Challengers

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: It may only be less than two weeks since they lost to Barack Obama, but potential Republican candidates are already jostling for position for the 2016 presidential election race.

Marco Rubio, the 41-year-old Florida Senator who is the Republicans’ most prominent Latino, led the way with a speech this weekend, calling for immigration reform and lower taxes as the party seeks to make itself more broadly acceptable.

"The way to turn our economy around is not by making rich people poorer, but make poor people richer," Senator Rubio said, taking a swipe at Mr Obama's plans to raise taxes on millionaires.

He was speaking at a birthday celebration for the Republican Governor of Iowa, a swing state whose 2016 caucus will officially get the race to find a Republican candidate under way.

Mr Rubio, a Cuban American with a flashing smile and a rags-to-riches back story, presents a stark contrast with the staid, establishment figure of 65-year-old Mitt Romney whose campaign conspicuously failed to win over Hispanic, black or young women voters.

"Our workers are not making as much as they made in the same jobs 25 years ago," Mr Rubio said. "My father was a bartender. My mother was a maid at a hotel. They were able to provide for us a standard of living." » | Peter Foster, Washington | Sunday, November 18, 2012

Coptic Pope Tawadros II Enthroned

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The new pope of Egypt's Orthodox Coptic church has been enthroned in an elaborate ceremony lasting nearly four hours, attended by the nation's Muslim prime minister and a host of Cabinet ministers and politicians.

Pope Tawadros II, 60, was elected earlier this month but the official enthronement ceremony was held on Sunday at the Coptic cathedral in Cairo. He replaced Shenouda III, who died in March after leading the ancient church for 40 years.

The packed cathedral repeatedly erupted into applause as the ceremony progressed. The ceremony's climax came when the papal crown was placed on Tawadros' head before he sat on the throne of St. Mark, the Coptic church's founding saint. » | Source: AP | Sunday, November 18, 2012

Jordan: King Abdullah II Cancels UK Trip After Protests
THE INDEPENDENT: King Abdullah II has cancelled his trip to London scheduled for next week, after thousands of Jordanians took to the streets of Amman yesterday calling for his fall on the fourth day of unrest sparked by rising fuel prices.

There had been anxiety over the visit due to the violence in Gaza, as his wife, Queen Rania, is Palestinian. Smaller groups of protesters have made rare calls against the monarch before. But the crowd in the capital of about 2,500, chanting slogans reminiscent of last year's Arab Spring uprisings, was the largest yet to seek the overthrow of the regime. » | Jalal Halaby, AMMAN | AP | Friday, November 16, 2012

Barroso: Unabhängiges Katalonien muss aus EU austreten

DIE PRESSE: Die nordspanische Region Katalonien hat vorgezogene Neuwahlen als Schritt zur Unabhängigkeit ausgerufen.

EU-Kommissionspräsident Jose Manel Barroso hat den katalanischen Unabhängigkeitsbestrebungen am Samstag einen harten Rückschlag versetzt. Am Rande des 22. Iberoamerikanischen Gipfeltreffens im südspanischen Cadiz stellte Barroso klar, dass eine Region, die sich von einem EU-Mitgliedsstaat trennt, automatisch aufhören würde, Teil der Europäischen Union zu sein. Die Einwohner der betreffenden Region würden ebenfalls sofort den Status als EU-Bürger verlieren, so Barroso weiter. » | DoePresse.com | Samstag, 17. November 2012

Gaza - L'Iran appelle le monde islamique à des représailles contre Israël
LE POINT: Le Parlement iranien a envisagé l'envoi d'une délégation de parlementaires à Gaza, mais aucune date n'a été fixée.

Le ministre iranien de la Défense Ahmad Vahidi a appelé samedi le monde islamique à des "actions de représailles" contre Israël pour mettre un terme aux "crimes du régime sioniste" à Gaza, a rapporté l'agence officielle Irna. "Les attaques sauvages contre la population innocente de Gaza sont l'exemple même de crimes de guerre", a affirmé le général Vahidi. "Seule l'unité, une action révolutionnaire et des représailles du monde islamique peuvent mettre un terme aux crimes du régime sioniste", a-t-il ajouté. » | Source AFP | samedi 17 novembre 2012