Sozialistischer Inselstaat: Kuba will Bürgern Auslandreisen erlauben
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Die kubanische Regierung prüft, ihren Bürgern Reisen ins Ausland zu gewähren - erstmals seit einem halben Jahrhundert wäre ein Urlaub außerhalb der Landesgrenzen damit erlaubt.

Havanna - Die Castro-Regierung im sozialistischen Inselstaat Kuba hatte in den vergangenen Wochen wiederholt Reformen angekündigt - jetzt sollen offenbar Taten folgen: Die kubanische Regierung will ihren Bürgern erstmals seit einem halben Jahrhundert Urlaubsreisen ins Ausland erlauben. Das sieht ein Reformplan vor, den die Behörden des kommunistischen Landes am Montag veröffentlichten. Einzelheiten zu den Plänen wurden zunächst nicht bekannt. » | amz/AFP | Montag, 09. Mai 2011

Elisabeth II a un œil sur Pippa
La popularité de la sœur de Kate irriterait la reine
GALA.fr: Un peu plus d’une semaine après le mariage du prince William et de Kate Middleton, le public n’a d’yeux que pour Pippa, la sœur de la mariée. Une popularité qui aurait tendance, murmure-t-on outre-Manche, à agacer Elisabeth II...

Pippa vole la vedette à Kate, Pippa affole la toile, Pippa ceci, Pippa cela, Pippa, Pippa, Pippa… depuis une semaine, tout le monde ne parle que d’elle. Il n’est pas un jour sans qu’une nouvelle info sur la sœur de Kate Middleton ne vienne embraser le web ou qu’une nouvelle photo ne vienne alimenter les conversations. Comme si la star du mariage, c’était elle! » | Jean-Christian Hay | Lundi 09 Mai 2011

Pour Berlusconi, les juges "sont le cancer de notre démocratie"
LE POINT: Le président du Conseil italien a violemment attaqué la magistrature en marge du procès Mills, où il est accusé de corruption de témoin.

Le chef du gouvernement italien Silvio Berlusconi a une nouvelle fois attaqué lundi la magistrature en marge d'un de ses procès, en la qualifiant de "cancer de la démocratie" en pleine journée d'hommage aux victimes du terrorisme, parmi lesquelles de nombreux juges. Les juges "sont le cancer de notre démocratie, il y a de leur part des tentatives réitérées de subversion", a déclaré Silvio Berlusconi, lors d'une pause durant une audience du procès Mills, où il est accusé de corruption de témoin. La prochaine audience dans ce procès a été fixée au 16 mai. » | Le Point.fr | Lundi 09 Mai 2011

Nicolas Sarkozy plaide pour la création d'un fonds international contre la drogue
LE POINT: Le chef de l'État a fait cette proposition lundi lors d'une réunion élargie des pays du G8 sur le trafic de drogue.

Nicolas Sarkozy a proposé, lundi, la création d'un fonds international de lutte contre le trafic de drogue sous contrôle de l'ONU qui serait alimenté par les avoirs saisis des narcotrafiquants, en ouverture d'une réunion élargie des pays du G8 sur le trafic de drogue. … » | Source AFP | Lundi 09 Mai 2011

Multiculturalism? No Thanks!
Britain is not a Muslim country and will never be a Muslim country

Pat Condell: Justice for Osama

German Jihad: Homegrown Terror Takes on New Dimensions
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Osama bin Laden may be dead, but al-Qaida is alive and well in Germany. Each month, an average of five Islamists leave the country for terrorist training camps in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area. Recent arrests in Düsseldorf show just how dangerous homegrown terror has become.

It isn't easy being a militant Islamist, as Abdeladim el-K. and Jamil S. learned on a Tuesday two weeks ago. The two men were sitting in a two-room apartment on Witzelstrasse in the German city of Düsseldorf, complaining to each other about how complicated it is to build a functioning bomb. "Bomb is not so difficult as detonator," said Abdeladim el-K., "because detonator more dangerous than bomb." » | Marcel Rosenbach and Holger Stark | Monday, May 09, 2011

Reactions to Pakistani Prime Minister's Rebuttal of Criticism of His Country
Mosharraf Zaidi, a Pakistani analyst, and Wajid Shamsul Hassan, Pakistan's high commissioner to the UK, speak to Al Jazeera about the Pakistani prime minister's rebuttal to criticisms of incompetence or complicity in the case of Osama bin Laden being found in his country

Pakistan Rejects Criticism Over Bin Laden
Pakistan's Prime Minister has denied he or the government knew they were harbouring the world's most-wanted man on its soil.

Yousuf Raza Gilani says Pakistan will not accept sole blame for any intelligence failure in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, the former al-Qaeda leader who was shot dead last week in a US raid on the Pakistani town of Abbottabad.

Gilani has also warned off any other countries wanting to conduct operations in secret inside Pakistan.

Al Jazeera's Cath Turner reports.

Al-Qaeda: Dick Cheney Calls for the Return of Enhanced Interrogation
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Harsh interrogation methods such as waterboarding played a role in tracking down Osama bin Laden and should be reinstated, former US vice president Dick Cheney said.

Another top member of the Bush administration, former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, credited the use of so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" with yielding "a major fraction" of US intelligence on al-Qaeda and called ending them a "mistake."

In one of the first acts after entering the White House in 2009, President Barack Obama suspended such methods, equating them with torture and saying they represented all that was wrong with the Bush-era "war on terror."

But the killing of bin Laden, or more exactly the way the intelligence was gathered that led the CIA to track him down, has reopened a raging controversy in the United States over their use.

Cheney, speaking on the "Fox News Sunday" program, said top intelligence officials had stated that "some of the early leads" that helped agents find bin Laden had come thanks to the harsh interrogation techniques used on terror suspects.

"All have said one way or the other that the enhanced interrogation program played a role," he said. "My guess is that's probably the case that it contributed, just as did a number of other factors."

Asked whether the methods should be reinstated if the United States were to capture a new high-value target, Cheney replied: "I certainly would advocate it. I'd be a strong supporter of it." » | Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Monday, May 09, 2011

Killing Bin Laden: The President's Story
In his first and only interview since the killing of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, President Barack Obama talks to Steve Kroft about the intelligence and preparations leading up to the operation in Pakistan

President Barack Obama relives the tension-filled moments as he and his closest advisors monitored the assault on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan. Steve Kroft reports

President Barack Obama talks about our allies in Pakistan, why he chose not to tell them about the mission, and where we go from here now that Osama bin Laden is dead. Steve Kroft reports

Mood in Afghanistan Post-bin Laden Death
Afghans say Osama bin Laden's death proves Pakistani intelligence service and military have been supporting al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Al Jazeera's James Bay speaks with Jaweed Lodin, Afghanistan deputy foreign minister who's close to the president.

Deadly Sectarian Clashes Erupt in Cairo
Christians marching against the military in the Egyptian capital and calling for more rights have come under attack.

While some blamed hardline Muslims, others said the attack is symptomatic of rampant lawlessness in the country following the revolution that overthrew long-time leader, Hosni Mubarak.

Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh reports from Cairo.

Inside Story: Iran's Power Struggle
Inside Story, discusses with Mohammed Syed Marandi, professor of political science at Tehran University; Mehrdad Khonsari, a former Iranian diplomat; and Majoob Zweiri, an expert on Iran

USA: Pilot Refuses to Take Two Imams On Board Flight
MAIL ONLINE: Two Muslim religious leaders were asked to leave a commercial airliner in Memphis - and were told it was because the pilot refused to fly with them aboard.

Masudur Rahman and another imam had already been allowed to board their Delta Connection flight from Memphis, Tennessee, to Charlotte, North Carolina before they were asked to get off the plane.

Ironically, the two men were headed to a North American Imams conference discussing Islamophobia or fears of Islam and discrimination against American Muslims.

'It's racism and bias because of our religion and appearance and because of misinformation about our religion.' Mr Rahman said. 'If they understood Islam, they wouldn't do this.'

Mr Rahman said he and Mohamed Zaghloul, of the Islamic Association of Greater Memphis, were cleared by security agents and boarded the plane for an 8.40am departure.

The aircraft pulled away from the gate, but the pilot then announced the plane must return, Mr Rahman said.

When it did, the imams were asked to go back to the boarding gate where they were told the pilot was refusing to accept them because some other passengers could be uncomfortable. Robed Muslim clerics kicked off U.S. flight after pilot refuses to take off with them (and they were en route to conference on Islamophobia) » | Daily Mail Reporter | Saturday, May 07, 2011

Iranian FM Warns against Continued Militarism in Bahrain
FARS NEWS AGENCY: TEHRAN - Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi in a meeting with UAE Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Muhammad Bin Rashid al-Maktum warned that foreign military intervention in Bahrain would further deteriorate the conditions in the Arab Persian Gulf country.

"Intervention of foreign forces in Bahrain further complicates the situation and continuing this policy and continued militarism will merely intensify the crisis (in Bahrain)," Salehi said at the meeting in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. 



He further pointed out that the present crisis in Bahrain could only be soothed through collective efforts, adoption of wise policies, withdrawal of foreign forces, proper response to the legitimate demands of the Bahraini people, and respect for Bahrain's sovereignty and independence. » | FNA | Monday, May 09, 2011

Währungsunion: Trennung als letztes Mittel
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Kann ein Mitgliedsland aus der Währungsunion austreten? In der Europäischen Zentralbank ist man zu dem Schluss gekommen, dass dies ohne einen Austritt aus der EU nicht vorstellbar sei. Welche Antwort gibt das Völkerrecht?

Die Reaktionen sind heftig. Der Vorsitzende der Euro-Gruppe, Luxemburgs Regierungschef Juncker, nennt einen Austritt Griechenlands aus der Währungsunion eine „dumme Idee“. Und der griechische Ministerpräsident Papandreou klagt über diese „Provokation“, die zeige, welchen Gefahren sein Land ausgesetzt sei. Doch niemand sagt: „Das geht gar nicht.“

Dabei sind manche Bündnisse durchaus für die Ewigkeit angelegt. Sie sind zumindest auf unbestimmte Zeit geschlossen - das gilt für die Ehe wie für die Europäische Union. Bis zum Inkrafttreten des Vertrages von Lissabon kannte die Gemeinschaft auch kein Austrittsrecht, kein vertraglich geregeltes, wohlgemerkt. Nunmehr heißt es: „Jeder Mitgliedstaat kann im Einklang mit seinen verfassungsrechtlichen Vorschriften beschließen, aus der Union auszutreten.“ » | Von Reinhard Müller | Montag, 09. Mai 2011

FAZ: Das Drachmendrama: Das griechische Statistikamt arbeitet mittlerweile zuverlässig. Manch einer wünscht sich jedoch, die aktuellen Zahlen wären erfunden. Sie zeigen: Die Bevölkerung ist zutiefst verunsichert - Spekulationen über einen Euro-Ausstieg verstärken dieses Gefühl. » | Von Michael Martens | Sonntag, 08. Mai 2011

FAZ: Das Scheitern: Die großen Länder des Euro-Raums haben die Griechen ins Gebet genommen. Das Land müsse endlich seine Hausaufgaben machen. Die Geheimniskrämerei um das Treffen verdeutlicht die Brisanz. » | Kommentar | Von Holger Steltzner | Sonntag, 08. Mai 2011

Osama bin Laden Dead: Ayman al-Zawahiri the World's 'Number One Terrorist'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama's National Security Adviser has declared Ayman al-Zawahiri to be the world's "number one terrorist" but said al-Qaeda's long standing deputy lacked Osama bin Laden's charismatic appeal.

One week after bin Laden's death and with no successor yet named, the assessment will heighten speculation that al-Qaeda is heading for a leadership battle.

Tom Donilon said: "Our assessment is that he is not anywhere near the leader that Osama bin Laden was." He also said there was no evidence yet to suggest that Pakistani authorities were aware that bin Laden had set up home only 30 miles from the capital Islamabad.

Al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian-born surgeon, is the man in line to take over, according to al-Qaeda's own rules of succession, but intelligence officials and analysts believe his abrasive style has made him unpopular with non-Egyptian ranks within the movement.

Other possible contenders in a succession battle include Abu Yahya al-Libi and Atiyah abd al-Rahman, two Libyans seen as rising stars.

Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical cleric famous for his YouTube appeals to English-speaking converts from his base in Yemen, has also been mooted. » | Rob Crilly, Islamabad | Sunday, May 08, 2011

Under Fire, Pakistan's PM to Address Nation on Bin Laden Death
REUTERS: Opposition parties took aim at Pakistan's leaders on Monday over the killing of Osama bin Laden, compounding pressure from Washington over the al Qaeda leader's hideout, as the prime minister prepared to "take the nation into confidence" on the crisis in a parliament address.

Pakistan's main opposition party is stepping up calls for the prime minister and president to resign over the breach of sovereignty by U.S. forces who slipped in from Afghanistan to storm the compound where bin Laden was holed up.

"We want resignations, not half-baked explanations," an official of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League told the News daily.

Pakistan welcomed the death of bin Laden, who plotted the September 11, 2001, airliner attacks on the United States, as a step in the fight against militancy but also said the U.S. raid to kill him was a violation of its sovereignty. » | John Chalmers | ISLAMABAD | Monday, May 09, 2011

Syrian President Sends Tanks into Major City
REUTERS: President Bashar al-Assad has sent tanks deep into Syria's third city Homs, escalating a military campaign to crush a seven-week-old uprising against his autocratic rule.

Syrians demanding political freedom and an end to corruption have held weeks of what they say are peaceful demonstrations in the face of government repression, despite a civilian death toll that has reached 800, according to the Syrian human rights organization Sawasiah.

On Sunday, Homs residents told Reuters they heard machinegun fire and shelling as troops made their first incursion into residential areas of the city of one million people, 165 km (100 miles) north of Damascus.

At least one person, a 12-year-old child, was killed when tanks and troops charged into the Bab Sebaa, Bab Amro and Tal al-Sour districts of Homs overnight, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. » | Khaled Yacoub Oweis | AMMAN | Sunday, May 08, 2011

Thousands protest in Syria
May 7, 2011 – Anti-government demonstraions continue in Syria, rights activists say 21 people were killed on Friday. Julie Noce, Reports

Al-Qaeda: Osama bin Laden Dead: Barack Obama Queries Pakistan's Role in Hiding bin Laden
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has suggested for the first time that “people inside of government” in Pakistan could have helped to harbour Osama bin Laden.

The comments, the strongest about Pakistan made by Mr Obama so far, came as his administration ramped up pressure on Islamabad for a full investigation into who gave him sanctuary so close to Islamabad[.] He said: “We think that there had to be some sort of support network for bin Laden inside of Pakistan. But we don’t know who or what that support network was.”

“We don’t know whether there might have been some people inside of government, people outside of government, and that’s something that we have to investigate and, more importantly, the Pakistani government has to investigate.”

In an interview with CBS News, Mr Obama confirmed that the US would not be releasing the photographs of bin Laden’s body.

He said: “Keep in mind that we are absolutely certain this was him. We’ve done DNA sampling and testing. And so there is no doubt that we killed Osama bin Laden. It is important for us to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence. As a propaganda tool. You know, that’s not who we are. You know, we don’t trot out this stuff as trophies. Continue reading and comment » | Toby Harnden, Washington, Jon Swaine in New York | Sunday, May 08, 2011

Egypt in Crisis Talks after Muslim Mobs Attack Christian Churches
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Egypt's caretaker government has held crisis talks after attacks by Muslim mobs on Coptic Christian churches in Cairo left at least 12 people dead and drove the country's growing religious tensions to the brink.

The riots, in Imbaba, a poor, densely populated district in the city, have heightened fears that a power vacuum following Hosni Mubarak's overthrow will lead to a power grab by Islamic fundamentalists, more sectarian strife and a collapse in law and order.

The prime minister, Essam Sharaf, called an emergency cabinet meeting after postponing a tour of Gulf oil states intended to win Egypt desperately needed financial support, three months after the uprising.

Following the meeting Abdel Aziz al-Gindi, the justice minister, said: "We will strike with an iron hand all those who seek to tamper with the nation's security." He promised to protect places of worship from attack.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which has ruled the country since Mr Mubarak's enforced resignation on February 11, announced the arrest of 190 people yesterday and said they would be tried before military tribunals.

Muslim protesters had tried to storm the St Mena's church in Imbaba on Saturday evening, claiming Christians were holding against her will a woman who had converted to Islam and married a Muslim. » | Samer al-Atrush in Cairo | Sunday, May 08, 2011

Related »

Verbunden »

Rettungseinsatz: Flüchtlingsschiff rammt Felsen vor Lampedusa
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Ein Boot mit Hunderten Flüchtlingen an Bord ist vor der süditalienischen Insel Lampedusa auf Grund gelaufen. Das Schiff kam vom Kurs ab und fuhr auf einen Felsen. An Bord brach Panik aus, viele Passagiere sprangen ins Wasser - die Küstenwache rettet Dutzende aus dem Meer.

Rom - Die Fahrt über das Mittelmeer für Flüchtlinge aus Nordafrika bleibt lebensgefährlich: Etwa 300 Menschen an Bord eines Flüchtlingsschiffs sind nur knapp einer Katastrophe entgangen. In der Nacht zum Sonntag ist ein vollbesetztes Boot vor der italienischen Insel Lampedusa auf Grund gelaufen, berichteten italienische Medien unter Berufung auf Behördenvertreter. Den Angaben zufolge war es in der Nacht vom Kurs abgekommen und hatte einen Felsen gerammt.

Den Beschreibungen zufolge spielten sich anschließend dramatische Szenen ab: An Bord brach Panik aus, zahlreiche Menschen, darunter Frauen und Kinder, sprangen ins Wasser. Dutzende Menschen wurden von der Küstenwache aus dem Meer gezogen. » | amz/dpa/dapd/Reuters | Sonntag 08. Mai 2011

Moore: Westminster Government Won't Block Independence Vote
THE SCOTSMAN: Michael Moore. the Secretary of State for Scotland, said today that the UK Government will not obstruct or pre-empt a referendum on Scottish independence.

The Lib Dem MP also said his party "would have to be tone deaf" to miss the point that the Westminster coalition had a bearing on their heavy defeat in Scotland.

Lib Dem disaffection was a strong factor in the SNP`s landslide victory which has cleared the way for an independence referendum in the latter part of the new Scottish Parliament.

Mr Moore said: "As a UK Government we will not be putting obstacles in the way of any referendum.

"When we get to the point of a referendum actually taking place, as a Liberal Democrat I will obviously campaign against it." » | David Gunn | Sunday, May 08, 2011

«La mosquée de Lyon n’a rien à voir avec les déboires des Américains en Irak»
«Le recteur de la mosquée de Lyon réagit aux documents de Wikileaks qui présentent sa mosquée comme une base du terrorisme

Bahrain Says it Will End State of Emergency
THE NEW YORK TIMES: JERUSALEM — The king of Bahrain said Sunday that the state of emergency he imposed in mid-March to quell antigovernment protests on that strategic and contested island would be ended on June 1st.

The announcement was a sign that Bahrain was seeking to assure banks and foreign governments that the chaos of recent months was over and the kingdom, which depends heavily on financial business, was trying to return to normal. It was also a sign that the numerous arrests and rushed trials of opposition figures in military courts were running their course. Some leading opposition figures went on trial as the announcement was being made.

Bahrain is majority Muslim Shiite state run by a Sunni royal family and elite. The government came down hard on the protests, which the organizers said were inspired by Egypt and Tunisia but the government accused of being aided by Iran. » | Ethan Bronner | Sunday, May 08, 2011

Speculation Intensifies Over Iranian Political Situation
Iran is rife with speculation that president Mahmoud Ahmadenijad may be about to resign over a feud with the country's supreme leader.

Last month Ahmadinejad sacked Iran's intelligence chief, Heydar Moslehi, in a move that the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei quickly overruled.

Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari explains the situation from the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Current Iranian Politics
There's a dramatic feud at the highest level of Iran's government, with speculation president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may quit.

Al Jazeera explains the key players involved

Cairo Tries to Contain Sectarian Strife
Almost 200 people are facing trial in a military court in Egypt after a night of religious violence. Ten people died in fighting between Muslims and members of the minority Coptic Christian community. Rawya Rageh has more from Cairo

Fortunes and Football Clubs - UK-based Russians Cashing In

No Farewell to Arms

Inside Story - Syria's Real Power Brokers
Apparent moves for reform amid crackdown on protesters raises question as who the real power-brokers are in Syria


Rami Makhlouf »

SYRIAN EMERGENCY TASK FORCE: Target of Deadly Protests In Syria Has US Investments (FORBES) » | Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Syrian Emergency Task Force: Supporting the Syrian People »

Inside Story - The GCC's Rôle in Regional Conflicts
A Gulf mediation plan to resolve the Yemeni crisis raises concerns about the GCC's role in regional conflicts. Has the GCC lost credibility and could its regional role backfire?

Iran to Make University Courses More Islamic
REUTERS – BLOGS – FAITH WORLD: Iran plans sweeping changes to university courses to make them more compatible with Islam, the official IRNA news agency reported on Friday. Deputy Minister of Science for Research and Technology Mohammad Mehdi Nejad Nouri, quoted by IRNA, said at least 36 courses would be changed by September after revision by a group of university and seminary experts.

The report did not name the subjects that would be changed, but officials said last year Iran would review 12 disciplines in the social sciences, including law, women’s studies, human rights, management, sociology, philosophy, psychology and political sciences, as their contents were too closely based on Western culture. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for modification of these studies in August, saying that many humanities subjects are based on principles founded in materialism rather than divine Islamic teachings. » | Mitra Amiri | Friday, May 06, 2011

Bahrain Puts Opposition Leaders and Activists On Trial
REUTERS: Bahrain put 21 mostly Shi'ite activists, including a prominent hardline dissident, on trial on Sunday, charged with trying to topple the government during weeks of protests in February and March.

Bahrain, a Sunni-ruled island kingdom, cracked down on the protests demanding greater political freedoms, a constitutional monarchy and an end to sectarian discrimination.

The crackdown, in which neighboring Sunni-led Gulf states sent troops to back Bahrain's forces, has boosted regional tension with Iran, which Bahrain accuses of manipulating its Shi'ite co-religionists to expand its influence.

Those on trial on Sunday face a hybrid civilian-military court where military prosecutors try the case before a panel of one military and two civilian judges.

Those on trial include Shi'ite dissident Hassan Mushaimaa, leader of the opposition group Haq who has called for the overthrow of the Sunni al-Khalifa monarchy, and Ebrahim Shareef, the Sunni leader of the secular Waad group that has called for a constitutional monarchy but has not joined those seeking to oust the king.

Bahrain's state news agency said the defendants were accused of involvement in an "attempt to overthrow the government by force and in liaison with a terrorist organization working for a foreign country."


Rights groups said the defendants should be tried before civil courts, saying the military courts did not allow the accused to defend themselves properly. » | MANAMA | Sunday, May 08, 2011

Muslime gegen Christen: Viele Tote bei religiös motivierter Gewalt in Ägypten
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Bei Auseinander-setzungen zwischen Muslimen und koptischen Christen sind in Kairo mindestens zehn Menschen getötet worden. Im Armenviertel Imbaba wurde eine Kirche in Brand gesteckt. Auslöser waren Gerüchte, dort werde eine vom Christentum zum Islam konvertierte Frau festgehalten.

Bei Auseinandersetzungen zwischen Christen und Moslems in Kairo sind nach Medienberichten zehn Menschen getötet worden. 186 weitere seien verletzt, zwei von ihnen schwebten in Lebensgefahr, berichteten staatliche Medien am Sonntag. Der geschäftsführende Ministerpräsident Ägyptens, Essam Sharaf, sagte eine Reise in die Golfstaaten ab, um eine Krisensitzung der Übergangsregierung einzurufen. » | FAZ.NET mit dapd/dpa/Reuters | Sonntag, 08. Mai 2011

LE POINT: Affrontements meurtriers entre chrétiens et musulmans en Égypte : Un quartier populaire du Caire a été le théâtre d'affrontements confessionnels samedi soir. » | Source AFP | Dimanche 08 Mai 2011

Nasty War of Words over AV in the Coalition
THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: David Cameron was branded a ‘toffee-nosed slimebag’ by a senior Liberal Democrat peer yesterday as recriminations over Nick Clegg’s shattering referendum defeat threatened to wreck the Coalition.

The Prime Minister found himself in a Coalition tug-of-war as angry Lib Dems called on him to scrap NHS reforms to make up for Mr Clegg’s failed bid to axe Britain’s first-past-the-post voting system.

Tory Right-wingers hit back by warning Mr Cameron will face a revolt from his grassroots if he made concessions to save the Deputy Premier.

The war of words came as The Mail on Sunday’s ‘referendum map’ showed that outside the bastions of elite university towns and the London liberal elite, virtually every region of Britain voted against the Alternative Vote.

The torrent of abuse at Mr Cameron was led by Lib Dem Lord Tony Greaves. ‘A lot of people in our party never liked Cameron,’ he said. ‘He is seen as a toffee-nosed slimebag, which is what he is. That is being polite to the man.’ The day an angry Lib Dem peer called Cameron 'a toffee-nosed slimebag'... and the people of Britain held the liberal elite to ridicule » | Simon Walters and Brendan Carlin | Sunday, May 08, 2011

GB : les riches toujours plus riches
leJDD.fr: Malgré la crise, les grandes fortunes britanniques ont vu leur richesse gonfler en moyenne de 18% sur les 12 derniers mois, sans toutefois détrôner de la première place le magnat de l'acier Lakshmi Mittal, selon le classement publié dimanche par le Sunday Times.

Dans un pays qui compte désormais 73 milliardaires contre 53 l'année dernière, soit presque le record de 75 atteint avant la crise, la reine n'arrive, elle, "qu'à" la 257e place avec une fortune évaluée à 300 millions de livres, en hausse de 3%. [Source: leJDD.fr] | Dimanche 08 Mai 2011

THE SUNDAY TIMES: Wealth goes through the roof » | Philip Beresford | Sunday, May 08, 2011 [£]

The Forgotten Frontline in Libya's Civil War
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A town in western Libya is coming under almost as much fire as Misurata, writes Andrew Gilligan. But no one is paying much attention.

It is the unknown frontline in Libya's civil war, a rebel town besieged by Gaddafi's forces but almost ignored by the outside world.

Rockets and Scud missiles pour down. Water is running short. Tens of thousands are desperately trying to flee.

But transfixed by the horrors of Misurata, the international community - and the Nato military alliance - have all but overlooked the closely parallel drama in the mountain towns of Zintan and Yafran, little more than an hour's drive from the capital.

"We have been under fire for about an hour and a half now," said one Zintan resident, Mustafa Haider, by telephone from the town on Friday afternoon.

"From the south, from the north, from the east, from everywhere. They fire with Grad missiles, Scud missiles, anything. They have tried to enter Zintan many times but they couldn't." Homes, schools, and the town's main hospital had been hit, causing panic, he said.

A spokesman for Human Rights Watch, Fred Abrahams, accused the Libyan regime of committing "indiscriminate attacks" in the district. "They are firing into residential areas without targeting a military object," he said. "It is in essence the same tactic as in Misurata."

Zintan and Yafran are at the tip of the largest rebel-held pocket in western Libya - a crescent running along the Nafusa mountain range from the towns, south-west of Tripoli, to the Tunisian border. » | Andrew Gilligan, Ras al-Jedir, western Libya | Sunday, May 08, 2011

Bahrain's Rulers Cast Net for Loyalty Oaths Online
USA TODAY: DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — While Bahrain's justice minister was making the latest accusations against alleged enemies of the state -- this time medical staff -- other officials were busy organizing a patriotic blitz that encourages pledges of loyalty on Facebook and Twitter.

These are the parallel worlds of one of Washington's linchpin military allies in the Gulf.

On one side is a grinding campaign to break the spirits of Shiite-led opponents whose pro-reform uprising was smothered by martial law. On the other: An expanding PR offensive to portray the Sunni monarchy as firmly in charge, and Bahrain as a firewall against Iranian influence in the nation that hosts the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

Bahrain's current spin -- shifting from state media to the web -- could appear as just more boosterism in a region where rulers are constantly bathed in state-sponsored praise. But there is a distinct undercurrent in the island kingdom: pumping up its own rhetoric to match Iran's increasing barrage of criticism.

It serves as further recognition that Bahrain's crisis doubles as a window into the region's collective phobias -- the mutual mistrust of Sunni Arab leaders and Shiite powerhouse Iran -- as America effectively watches from the sidelines.

"So many of the Gulf's big issues are squeezed into this one tiny country," said Shadi Hamid, director of research at The Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. » | Brian Murphy And Barbara Surk, Associated Press | Saturday, May 07, 2011

Saudi Arabia's Influence in the Middle East
ABC.NET.AU – ELIZABETH JACKSON’S REPORT: Syria has again been in the headlines this weekend with yet more protesters shot after Friday prayers.



The EU has announced it'll impose sanctions against Syria and the UN has sent in teams of people.



One rather large and influential country in the Middle East is Saudi Arabia.



Its influence in the region is considerable and it's becoming increasingly nervous as its neighbours deal with these political uprisings.



Madawi Al Rasheed is a professor of social anthropology at Kings College in London.



I asked her about the influence of Saudi Arabia in the region.



MADAWI AL RASHEED: Saudi Arabia tries to project itself as a stabiliser, as a force that would stabilise the region, but this means that they interfere in a very big way in other countries' affairs.



For example in Bahrain now, we know that Saudi Arabia was the first country to seize the opportunity and move its troops. The same thing happened in Yemen. Saudi Arabia had always interfered in Yemen, and again, the problem is you have a neighbour that is extremely vulnerable and poor in Yemen and a very, very wealthy, economically strong state like that of Saudi Arabia and therefore it is very easy for Saudi Arabia to interfere in Yemeni affairs and also play political game with the various tribal groups and with the regime. (+ audio) » | Elizabeth Jackson | Sunday, May 08, 2011

While Bahrain Demolishes Mosques, U.S. Stays Silent
KANSAS CITY STAR: In the ancient Bahraini village of Aali, where some graves date to 2000 B.C., the Amir Mohammed Braighi mosque had stood for more than 400 years - one of the handsomest Shiite Muslim mosques in this small island nation in the Persian Gulf.

Today, only bulldozer tracks remain.

In Nwaidrat, where anti-government protests began Feb. 14, the Mo'men mosque had long been a center for the town's Shiite population - photos show it as a handsome, square building neatly painted in ochre, with white and green trim, and a short portico in dark gray forming the main entrance.

Today, only the portico remains.

"When I was a child, I used to go and pray with my grandfather," said a 52-year-old local resident, who asked to be called only "Abu Hadi." "The area used to be totally green, with tiers of sweet water wells.

"Why did they destroy this mosque?" Abu Hadi wailed. "Muslims have prayed there for decades."

In Shiite villages across this island kingdom of 1.2 million, the Sunni Muslim government has bulldozed dozens of mosques as part of a crackdown on Shiite dissidents, an assault on human rights that is breathtaking in its expansiveness.

Authorities have held secret trials where protesters have been sentenced to death, arrested prominent mainstream opposition politicians, jailed nurses and doctors who treated injured protesters, seized the health care system that had been run primarily by Shiites, fired 1,000 Shiite professionals and canceled their pensions, detained students and teachers who took part in the protests, beat and arrested journalists, and forced the closure of the only opposition newspaper.

Nothing, however, has struck harder at the fabric of this nation, where Shiites outnumber Sunnis nearly 4 to 1, than the destruction of Shiite worship centers.

The Obama administration has said nothing in public about the destruction. Continue reading and comment » | Roy Gutman, McClatchy Newspapers, with contributions from Hannah Allam in Cairo | Sunday, May 08, 2011

In the Court of Carla Bruni
THE OBSERVER: The latest sensation in France's love-hate relationship with its first lady has been whether Carla Bruni is pregnant. And her appearance this week at Cannes in Woody Allen's latest film only adds to the fun. Here, five people in the know reveal what she really means to the republic

The long-suffering French public sometimes feels it knows a little too much about its first lady. In three years of Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni's whirlwind romance and marriage, we've been treated to their first dates, joint jogging sessions, pet names, expensive love tokens and taste for kissing in public – unprecedented at the Elysée Palace. We know Bruni hired a personal trainer who tones up the muscles of the couple's private parts, that beer makes her bloated and can lead to mistaken speculation that she's pregnant, that she's addicted to cigarettes and likes to watch DVDs with her husband after work (Stanley Kubrick or Pasolini). We were even treated to Madame Bruni-Sarkozy's old tissues and loose change when she once publicly tipped out the contents of her handbag for the nation (hairbrush, reading glasses, teddy and a notebook for jotting down song lyrics. "I've got writing like a psychopath," she helpfully explained).

We've listened to Bruni's album of love songs to her husband ("I want your laugh in my mouth" was one line) and now we'll inevitably troop to the cinema to watch her cameo in the Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris, shot as the proud president stood watching on set. In France, Allen is a god who can do no wrong. Perhaps Bruni's cameo is a way to redeem herself to a nation so embarrassed by her husband. Bruni's stint as première dame de France was never going to be easy. It wasn't the fact that she was a multimillionaire Italian former supermodel turned folk-pop singer who once dated Mick Jagger. It was more that the circumstances of her marriage to Sarkozy were stacked against her from the start. In autumn 2007, the newly elected Sarkozy went to pieces when his adored wife Cécilia finally divorced him. A teetotaller normally in bed by midnight, he begged friends to organise dinner parties to distract him. At one dinner he met Bruni, who looks uncannily like a younger version of his ex-wife. Less than three months later they married at the Elysée. It was his third marriage and her first. Spending the wedding night at their retreat in the grounds of the Palace of Versailles did little to stop the inevitable comparisons with Marie Antoinette, another fashion-obsessed foreigner married to an unpopular head of state. » | Angelique Chrisafis | Sunday, May 08, 2011

Syria: President Assad Should Be Brought to Book over Violence
THE OBSERVER – EDITORIAL: Sanctions must be used against President Assad for the murderous acts of the state over which he presides

In the Arab Spring, a great deal of violence has been used by regimes against their people. Confronted with these events, the international community has struggled to come up with a coherent response, hesitating over Tunisia and Egypt, then rushing into a military intervention in Libya.

Now, as tanks attack another town in Bashar al-Assad's Syria, the response of the EU and the US appears to be based on a wild gamble. The plan appears to be to apply limited sanctions which exclude Mr Assad himself, while targeting others in his entourage, including his brother, Maher. This discriminating approach is meant to split the regime, with Mr Assad nudged back on to the course of reform he appeared to espouse when he succeeded his father a decade ago. How risky the pursuit of that policy has been should be clear as another Syrian town, Baniyas, has come under vicious assault. Continue reading and comment » | Editorial| Sunday, May 08, 2011

Osama bin Laden: Dead, But Still a Spectre for the World
THE OBSERVER: Barack Obama has been boosted by the killing of the al-Qaida leader, but his followers warn that his blood will not be 'wasted'

…

EXTRACT: Then there is the question: what does the death of Bin Laden mean for al-Qaida, for the phenomenon of contemporary Sunni Islamic militancy more generally and for world security? Are we safer?

On Friday, al-Qaida issued a statement on the internet which pledged that Bin Laden's blood would not be "wasted", that his "university of Koran… and jihad" would not be closed and the organisation would continue the fight against the US and its allies. Signed by al-Qaida's "general leadership", it also predicted that Bin Laden's death would be a "curse" for the US. This weekend security services around the world are on high alert, fearing attacks aiming not so much at vengeance but simply at showing that the group still has capabilities.

The fact that a statement – apparently agreed by a number of different people – was put together and released successfully indicates that, at least for the moment, the few score militants who comprise the "al-Qaida hardcore" still have some cohesion. … Read the whole article and comment » | Jason Burke, Declan Walsh in Islamabad and Paul Harris in New York | Sunday, May 08, 2011

Osama bin Laden Home Video: Terrorist Leader Shown as Frail Figure Watching Himself on TV
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Extraordinary home-made video of Osama bin Laden shows the terror supremo as a frail figure with an unkempt beard, rocking back and forth as he watches himself on television.


The remarkable footage apparently recorded at his Pakistani hideout was part of a cache of videos captured by the US commandos who killed him in a daring night-time raid last week.

It stood in stark contrast to the image he sought to portray of himself to his followers and enemies in other seized videos in which he had dyed his hair and beard a luxuriant black and donned spotless clothing for propaganda recordings. » | Philip Sherwell, New York | Saturday, May 07, 2011

Kate et William : ils partent demain pour les Seychelles
PARIS MATCH: Dimanche, le Duc et la Duchesse de Cambridge devraient s'envoler pour une lune de miel qui ressemble fort à un retour aux sources de leur amour.

La nouvelle est tombée cet après-midi sur le site du Daily Mirror : le couple princier part demain aux Seychelles en voyage de noces. « Ils ne peuvent plus attendre de prendre du recul et d'évoquer ensemble les semaines incroyables qui viennent de s'écouler » confie au tabloïd un proche des jeunes mariés.

Depuis des semaines Kate et William ont parcouru virtuellement la moitié de la planète, au gré de l'imagination baladeuse de la presse britannique : Kenya, île Moustique, Amérique-du-Sud, Jordanie... Les destinations défilaient aussi vite que les stations du métro londonien. » | David Ramasseul, Parismatch.com | Samedi 07 Mai 2011