Wednesday, May 11, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A group of Pakistani politicians including a former minister hijacked proceedings in parliament to offer prayers for the death of Osama bin Laden, little more than a week after he was killed in a US Navy Seal raid.
Their actions will heighten suspicions that parts of the Islamabad government or the powerful military establishment sympathised with the al-Qaeda leader, and may have sheltered him from justice.
"Bin Laden was an international figure and above all a Muslim ... I took it as my religious duty to offer prayers for him," said Maulvi Asmatullah, an independent Member of the National Assembly who led the prayers on Tuesday.
The deputy speaker of the house tried to silence the prayers, warning the MNAs that they did not have permission Mr Asmatullah was joined by two members of the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam party, the country's biggest Islamic party which was part of the governing coalition until late 2010.
Atta-ur-Rehman, a federal minister until his party withdrew from government, was among them.
Their controversial actions underscore Pakistan's complex relationship with Islamist militants. » | Rob Crilly, Islamabad | Wednesday, May 11, 2011
In first of five exclusive reports, Al Jazeera has unearthed evidence that sheds light on kingdom's brutal crackdown.
Al Jazeera is learning more about the full extent of the brutal crackdown in Bahrain against those it believes took part in recent anti-government protests.
The kingdom's oil company has fired almost 300 employees.
And according to an opposition group, police have raided up to 15 mainly girls schools, detaining, beating and threatening to rape girls as young as 12.
Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford reports.
LE POINT: Le dirigeant libyen n'est plus apparu en public depuis le 30 avril et l'Otan reconnaît avoir perdu sa trace.Le doute s'est installé jusqu'au plus haut sommet de l'Otan. "Nous ne savons pas ce que Kadhafi fait maintenant." La petite phrase émane du général Claudio Gabellini, qui s'exprimait mardi soir depuis le QG de l'Alliance atlantique à Naples, dans le sud de l'Italie. Un aveu lourd de sens, quelques heures après d'intenses bombardements des forces alliées sur des bunkers appartenant au colonel en plein Tripoli. "L'Otan ne vise pas des individus", a cru bon de rappeler le général Gabellini, précisant que les cibles de l'Otan étaient uniquement "militaires", à savoir des "bunkers de commandement et de contrôle". » | Par Cyriel Martin | Mercredi 11 Mai 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Duchess of Cornwall yesterday launched an outspoken defence of freedom of the press in Britain, describing it as a cornerstone of democracy.In a surprise intervention, set against the backdrop of the debate over privacy and the courts, she said that she “passionately” believed in freedom of expression and insisted that no aspect of society should be free from scrutiny.
She said that the right to "question, debate and criticise" everything should be a matter of national pride.
But she warned against allowing political correctness to restrict free reporting, saying it was “as severe a form of censorship as any”.
Her comments came a day after a landmark European Court of Human Rights ruling which threw out an attempt by Max Mosley, the former motor racing boss, to introduce new restrictions on the press to protect privacy.
Mr Mosley, whose taste for sadomasochistic sessions with prostitutes was exposed by a Sunday tabloid, wanted the court to force the media to warn the subjects of exposés in advance.
It came as a series of disclosures on the Twitter website, naming celebrities said to be protected by draconian gagging orders, threw the wider system of privacy injunctions into chaos and led to calls for parliament to reassess the law.
Addressing editors and journalists at the London Press Club Awards, the Duchess, whose relationship with the Prince of Wales attracted highly critical media coverage in the past, acknowledged that she might seem an unlikely ally for the press. » | John Bingham | Wednesday, May 11, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama will be able to send any mobile phone in the United States a text message warning of imminent danger, from a terror attack to a natural disaster, under plans announced on Tuesday.From next year, new phones and other hand-held devices will be required to be fitted with special chips to receive the alerts, which will also be sent by state and local authorities. Users will be able to opt out of every type of alert except those from the president, said the Federal Communications Commission.
The system will include alerts about missing children and will supersede all other phone traffic to avoid delays. » | Alex Spillius, Washington | Tuesday, May 10, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The sons of Osama bin Laden broke their silence on Tuesday denouncing his "arbitrary killing" and burial at sea as the United States sought to question the al-Qaeda leader's widows.In a statement given to the New York Times, the sons asked why their father "was not arrested and tried in a court of law so that the truth is revealed to the people of the world."
"We maintain that arbitrary killing is not a solution to political problems," it said. In a separate statement posted on jihadist sites, the sons also slammed the "criminal mission" ordered by US President Barack Obama which "obliterated an entire defenceless family."
Bin Laden was killed by US forces on May 2 after being tracked down to a Pakistani compound where the architect of the September 11, 2001 attacks is believed to eluded capture for years, despite a massive global hunt.
The statements denouncing his father's killing are said to have been prepared at the direction of Omar bin Laden, 30, and also called for Pakistani authorities to release the al-Qaeda leader's three wives and children.
The United States is keen to question the three women in hopes of finding out more details of al-Qaeda's reach and organisation, as well as details of bin Laden's final years. » | Tuesday, May 10, 2011
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Osama bin Laden's son Omar says he always disagreed with his father about violence, and is now disagreeing with the violence purportedly used against his father.In a statement written by the Bin Laden family but signed only by Omar, 30, the United States is accused of breaking international law by killing the unarmed terrorist leader without a trial. That is, they said, if the mission was indeed successful.
Omar bin Laden began the statement by saying that he and the family do not believe that the Al Qaeda leader is dead and, like the so-called deathers in this country, want to see photographs and/or video evidence as proof. » | Andrew Malcolm | Tuesday, May 10, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A relative of Osama bin Laden disappeared during the raid by a crack team of US Navy Seals that killed the al-Qaeda leader, according to Pakistan security officials, deepening confusion over the fate of a son regarded as the Crown Prince of Terror.Three of bin Laden’s widows, currently in Pakistani custody, have told interrogators that one son has not been seen since the operation on May 2.
The fresh details raise fears that the al-Qaeda leader’s youngest son and closest confidante, Hamza, may have escaped capture.
The White House initially claimed that Hamza, 20, had been killed at the house in Abbottabad, about 30 miles from Islamabad, the Pakistani capital.
Officials later said his 22-year-old brother Khalid had been killed instead.
Last night an intelligence source in Islamabad told The Daily Telegraph that shifting accounts of what had happened, coupled with the widows’ testimony, left them unable to account for one person who they believe had been living at the house. » | Rob Crilly, Islamabad and Alex Spillius in Washington | Tuesday, May 10, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Italians are fleeing Rome todayover fears a giant earthquake is coming following a seismologist's 1915 prediction that "the big one" will strike on May 11, 2011.Businesses have reported requests from one in five people to have time off work and many are also keeping children away from school and heading to the beach or country for the day.
Romans are taking it so seriously that local newspapers have even been publishing survival guides with tips of what to do – if – the ground starts to tremble.
The panic has been fanned by Facebook, Twitter and text messages around a prediction by Raffaele Bendani [sic], a seismologist who forecast in 1915 that a "big one" would hit Rome on Wednesday.
He is also said to have predicted other earthquakes which hit Italy during the last hundred years before his death in 1979. » | Nick Pisa, Rome | Tuesday, May 10, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Col Muammar Gaddafi and his armed forces have been directly targetted in a series of precision strikes in Tripoli and the key town of Misurata as concerns grow that the regime is attempting to swamp Europe with refugees.
The new phase of highly accurate attacks, shown in photographs released by the Ministry of Defence on Tuesday, was launched as an increasingly desperate refugee crisis has seen thousands from Libya flee for Europe in just a few days.
In a sign that the regime is trying to force a refugee crisis as a weapon against its Nato enemies, almost 1,900 people from Libya arrived in five boats on the Italian islands of Lampedusa and Linosa this weekend alone. Another vessel sank - bringing the total lost to four boats.
Hundreds of bodies are now washing ashore along the Libyan coast. Some of the refugees said they were forced on to the boats by Libyan troops and police, the International Organisation for Migration reported. Others were given free passage, in contrast to the normal practice where migrants are charged fortunes for the crossing.
"The flow of migrants from Libya to Italy has undeniably accelerated very recently," said the IOM's spokesman, Jean Philippe Chauzy. "Until recently, the flow to Europe was overwhelmingly Tunisians and there were no departures [by sea] from Libya. But as of yesterday, a total of 12,360 people on 35 vessels have arrived in Lampedusa and Malta from Libya." » | Thomas Harding, and Andrew Gilligan in Tripoli | Tuesday, May 10, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Sarah, Duchess of York has spoken publicly for the first time about being snubbed by the Royal Family over the guest list to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
The Duchess, who was a close friend of Prince William’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, told a US talk show that it had been “difficult” not to have been invited.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, she said that she had gone to Thailand while the wedding was taking place.
Her daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, attended the Westminster Abbey service with their father, the Duke of York.
The two princesses attracted lively discussion in fashion forums for their striking choice of hats by the designer Philip Treacy.
The Duchess, who is to have her own show on Winfrey’s cable channel, is understood to have turned down a slew of lucrative offers from US television channels to offer commentary on the day of the wedding. » | John Bingham | Tuesday, May 10, 2011
LE FIGARO: Surnommé le «baron copier-coller», l'ex-ministre est accusé de triche délibérée par l'université de Bayreuth.La perspective d'un retour en politique pour Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg a pris un sérieux coup de frein, mercredi. Accusé de plagiat dans sa thèse de doctorat, l'ex-ministre de la Défense avait démissionné de ses fonctions en mars.
Mercredi, l'université de Bayreuth, qui lui avait retiré son titre de docteur, a rendu publiques les conclusions d'un rapport accablant sur la thèse de Guttenberg, jugeant que celui-ci avait «triché délibérément». Et l'ancien ministre star du gouvernement d'Angela Merkel, qui faisait figure de «chancelier en réserve», risquerait désormais une condamnation à une peine de prison, l'une des victimes du plagiat ayant décidé de déposer une plainte pénale. » | Par Patrick Saint-Paul | Mittwoch 11. Marz 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
BBC: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has criticised China's crackdown on dissent as "a fool's errand", saying Beijing is trying to halt history.In an interview with The Atlantic, Mrs Clinton also called the nation's human rights record "deplorable".
She defended US dealings with Beijing, saying: "We live in the real world."
The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington says Mrs Clinton seemed to suggest the Chinese system itself would collapse and that democracy was inevitable.
The article quotes Mrs Clinton as saying last month that China's leaders were "worried" that the wave of pro-democracy protests overtaking the Middle East would spread east to China.
"They're trying to stop history, which is a fool's errand," she said. "They cannot do it, but they're going to hold it off as long as possible." » | Tuesday, May 10, 2011
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Teenagers in Florida are set to be banned by law from wearing low-slung jeans that reveal their underwear.
Teenagers in Florida are set to be banned by law from wearing low-slung jeans that reveal their underwear.
Senate Bill 228, also known as the "Pull Your Pants Up" Bill, was last week overwhelmingly approved by the state legislature. It is expected to be signed by Governor Rick Scott this week.
The measure prohibits students from wearing clothing that "exposes their undergarments" or "indecently exposes their body parts" while they are at school.
It is aimed at putting an end to the Hip-Hop-influenced trend, favoured especially by young men, in which jeans are worn around the buttocks rather than the waist. » | Jon Swaine, New York | Sunday, May 08, 2011
MIDDLE EAST ONLINE: RIYADH and LONDON - The Saudi-Iranian relations are going through a period of high tension that culminated in Saudi Arabia’s refusal to receive Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi as part of his Gulf tour.Sources in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) confirmed the Saudi rejection. The Saudi move, they said, is due to the Iranian diplomatic and media campaign against the kingdom. The campaign comes against the backdrop of the Saudis’ support for the Bahraini government against what the Al-Khalifa, the Bahraini royal family which has been ruling the country for 300 years, called an Iranian coup plan.
According to the sources, the Saudis stressed that unless the Iranian government apologized for the vandalism done to its consulate in Mashhad and the attack on its embassy in Tehran, the visit of the Iranian minister could not be considered friendly, and that there would be no healthy foundations for the development of future relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The sources revealed that Salehi sought a Qatari mediation, but the Qataris affirmed that a continued direct contact between the two countries is better for the stability of the region. » | Middle East Online | Tuesday, May 10, 2011
NZZ ONLINE: Die libyschen Rebellen haben nach eigenen Angaben im Kampf um die belagerte Stadt Misrata an Boden gewonnen, nachdem die Nato dort in den vergangenen Tagen Dutzende von militärischen Zielen getroffen hatte. Auch im Osten des Landes sollen sie Erfolge gegen die Truppen Ghadhafis erzielt haben.Die Rebellen posteten Videos im Internet, in denen sie die Truppen von Machthaber Ghadhafi zur Aufgabe aufforderten. Sie seien bis 25 Kilometer ausserhalb des Zentrums von Misrata vorgerückt, erklärten die Regierungsgegner. Ein Arzt aus Misrata sagte gegenüber der Nachrichtenagentur AP, dass die Rebellen bis nach Dafnija, einen Ort am westlichen Stadtrand, vorgedrungen seien. Auch nahe des Flughafens südlich von Misrata werde gekämpft. «Wir sind hinter dir her, Ghadhafi», sagte einer der Kämpfer in einem Internet-Video. Die Nato hatte nach eigenen Angaben seit Montag vergangener Woche 30 militärische Ziele in Misrata getroffen, darunter zwölf Panzer. » | ddp | Dienstag, 10. Mai 2011
YNET NEWS: Op-ed: Famed musician bashes Israel but says nothing in face of anti-Israeli violence hate
It is difficult for those who enjoy Daniel Barenboim’s music to criticize an artist like him. Yet the famous Israeli conductor just led an ensemble of European musicians to Hamastan, including Italians from world-renowned opera house of La Scala in Milan.
Indeed, the Israeli pianist and conductor crossed a red line with a most unethical gesture.
“We are playing this concert as a sign of our solidarity and friendship with the civil society of Gaza”, Barenboim said. He also wished “success” to the Hamas-Fatah unity agreement signed in Egypt.
Barenboim’s performances of Beethoven and Mozart can’t be an excuse for his political irresponsibility. For global public opinion he is an icon of tolerance and he must be judged by his actions. Barenboim refused to take part in Israel’s 60th anniversary festivities and in 2005, while signing a book that he had written with late anti-Israel activist Edward Said, he refused to be interviewed by a reporter for Israel’s Army radio simply because she was wearing an IDF uniform. » | Giulio Meotti | Sunday, May 08, 2011
YNET NEWS: Barenboim in Gaza 'peace concert': Israeli maestro breaks new ground as audience of some 700 attends hour-long concert along beachfront in northern Strip » | Reuters | Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Related »
AL-MASRY AL-YOUM: More than 50,000 people on Saturday attended a joint rally held by the Muslim Brotherhood group and Salafis in Haram district, Giza.
The organizers chanted slogans stating that the Brotherhood and the Salafis are one, and that both seek to apply the Islamic Sharia.
“The United Arab States and the United Islamic States are inevitably coming,” said prominent Salafi preacher Safwat Hegazy at the rally. “And soon we will have one caliph to rule us all.”
Hegazy condemned those who burnt the church in Imbaba on Saturday. “They are not Salafis or Brothers, nor are they Egyptians,” he said. “They are the enemy that incites sectarian strife.”
Salafi preacher Mohamed Hassan, for his part, called on all Islamic groups to reassure Muslims and Christians alike. “Egypt does not belong to the Muslims alone,” he said. “And Copts are protected by Islam. They need not resort to the United States for that.” [Source: Al-Masry Al-Youm] | Hany ElWaziry | Sunday, May 08, 2011
HT: Jihad Watch »
CANOË: TORONTO – Un politicien néerlandais connu pour ses prises de position radicales contre l'islam soutient que le Canada doit interdire la construction de mosquées et bannir la burka afin de freiner le « processus d'islamisation » du pays.La France et la Belgique ont banni le port du voile intégral dans les lieux publics. La Hollande est dans le processus d'interdire le port du niqab.
« Si tu veux conserver ta culture islamique, reste dans ton pays », a tranché Geert Wilders, lors d'une entrevue accordée lundi à Ezra Levant à l'émission The Source sur les ondes de Sun News à Toronto.
Geert Wilders, chef du Parti pour la liberté, en Hollande, s’est fait remarquer, au cours des dernières années, pour ses attaques virulentes à l’endroit de l’islam en général, qu’il accuse notamment de brimer la liberté des gens et de répandre la haine contre ceux qui ne croient pas en l'idéologie.
Wilders, qui en est à sa première visite au Canada, a indiqué que l'islam n'est pas une religion, mais plutôt « une idéologie totalitaire ». » | Agence QMI | Lundi 09 Mai 2011
REUTERS: Bahrain said on Tuesday that it was expelling the Reuters correspondent in the Gulf kingdom.
Frederik Richter, who has been based in the capital Manama since 2008, was told to leave within a week after officials complained Reuters had lacked balance in its reporting during the recent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
"Reuters regrets Bahrain's decision to expel its correspondent," Editor-in-Chief Stephen Adler said. "We stand by Frederik Richter's reporting and we will continue to provide comprehensive and unbiased coverage from the country."
An official at the Information Affairs Authority, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nezar al-Khalifa, said Bahrain was not closing down the Reuters operations in Manama and would accredit another correspondent nominated by the agency.
"We have no problem with Reuters. We're not closing the office and (Reuters) can send in a replacement," he said. » | Reuters. Editing by Alastair Macdonald | LONDON | Tuesday, May 10, 2011
It has been just over a week since US special forces killed al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan.
Pakistan may allow American investigators to question his three widows, arrested by Pakistani forces shortly after the unilateral US raid.
After days of hard talk coming from both sides, the US and Pakistan have signalled a willingness to co-operate.
Al Jazeera's Imtiyaz Tyab reports.
LE POINT: Tee-shirts, mugs, étuis iPhone ou tabliers... Des produits dérivés improbables ont déferlé en quelques jours. Échantillon.Ils ne sont pas vraiment du meilleur goût. "Obama a eu Oussama", "Ben Laden, repose en enfer", "On l'a eu", "Justice", le tout sur fond de photomontages plus ou moins heureux. Une semaine après le raid américain au Pakistan, des centaines de types de tee-shirts célébrant la mort du chef d'al-Qaida sont proposés sur la Toile. Pour une vingtaine d'euros, tout un chacun peut se procurer ces habits déjà présentés comme "historiques" par les sites de vente en ligne. » | Par Cyriel Martin | Mardi 10 Mai 2011
RUSSIA TODAY: Iranian Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi claims that Osama Bin Laden died from an illness before the US raid on his compound in Abbottabad. Iran has documents to prove it, he said."We have credible information that Bin Laden died some time ago of a disease," Moslehi said on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting on Sunday, as quoted by ISNA news agency.
"If the US military and intelligence apparatus have really arrested or killed Bin Laden, why don't they show him [his body]? Why have they thrown his corpse into the sea?" Moslehi asked rhetorically, FARS news agency reports. » | Tuesday, May 10, 2011
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Marine Le Pen, Vorsitzende des rechtsextremen Front National, wettert gegen Euro, EU und Migration. Viele Franzosen mögen sie. Ein Mittagessen mit der Rivalin von Präsident Sarkozy.Es gibt kein Mikrofon in dem feinen, stuckgeschmückten Saal des Restaurants gleich bei der Comédie Française in Paris. „Ich spreche sowieso laut“, sagt Marine Le Pen. Die 42 Jahre alte Vorsitzende der rechtsextremen Partei Front National (FN), die enge dunkelblaue Jeans zur weißen Designerjacke trägt, ist sichtlich guter Laune. In einem Jahr sind Präsidentenwahlen und alle jüngeren Umfragen sehen die FN-Chefin sicher in der Stichwahlrunde. Im ersten Wahlgang schlägt sie Präsident Sarkozy, aber auch den sozialistischen Umfragefavoriten Dominique Strauss-Kahn, sagen die Meinungsforschungserhebungen. Anders als ihr Vater Jean-Marie Le Pen muss sie sich nicht abmühen, in den Medien Gehör zu finden. Sie kann sich vor Anfragen kaum retten und wird zum Mittagessen eingeladen wie etablierte französische Politiker. „Die Themen fliegen uns geradezu zu“, sagt sie.
Derzeit ist es die Krise der Europäischen Union, die Marine Le Pen umtreibt. Der Fall Griechenland zeige eindeutig, dass die europäische Staatsschuldenkrise längst nicht überwunden sei. „Ich bin keine Antieuropäerin“, sagt Frau Le Pen. „Aber ich gehe davon aus, dass das ganze europäische System irgendwann zusammenbricht.“ Sie wolle Frankreich vorbereiten auf den Tag, an dem die Eurozone auseinanderbreche. Der Euro sei ein „historischer Fehler“ gewesen, und bislang spürten vor allem die Länder an der europäischen Peripherie dessen ökonomische Auswirkungen.
„Schwaches Wachstum, Jobverlagerung in Billiglohnländer, negative Handelsbilanzen und Arbeitslosigkeit“ seien die Bilanz des Euro. „Glauben Sie wirklich, dass Griechenland aus eigener Kraft den Bankrott vermeiden kann? Glauben Sie wirklich, dass Griechenland eine Zukunft mit dem Euro hat?“, fragt sie. Mit einer starken Währung könne Griechenland im internationalen Konkurrenzkampf nicht wettbewerbsfähig sein. » | Von Michaela Wiegel, Paris | Dienstag, 10. Mai 2011
RUSSIA TODAY: Moscow wants Ukraine to punish nationalists: Ukrainian authorities must bring to account nationalists who staged provocations on Victory Day in Lvov and other cities in Western Ukraine, stated the head of the State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs, Liberal Democrats MP Aleksey Ostrovsky. » | Aleksandr Mazurkevich | RIA Novosti | Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Related video »
THE GUARDIAN: Six girls aged between 12 and 18 receive 10 lashes each for attacking head of orphanage
Six orphan girls aged between 12 and 18 have been flogged in Saudi Arabia after being convicted of attacking the head of their orphanage, an official said.
The girls received 10 lashes each at a women's prison in Medina, Islam's second holiest city.
"The order against the six orphans is a legitimate court order," Mohammed al-Awadh, the public relations manager at the ministry of social affairs, told Reuters. "The ministry does not have the right to interfere in a court order."
He gave no details of the ruling but the Arabic-language newspaper Okaz said the girls had been convicted of "acts of mischief" and attacking the director of the orphanage.
The girls defended their actions, saying they were harassed by the director, Okaz reported. » | Reuters in Riyadh | Tuesday, May 10, 2011
The worst floods to hit the central United States in more than 80 years have swallowed up homes, roadways and farms, as the Mississippi River swelled to six times its normal width.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes as record spring flooding wreaked havoc in Tennessee and threatens to sweep to Louisiana at the southern most end of the river.
John Terret reports from Memphis, Tennessee's capital.
THE GUARDIAN: Republicans in state senate pass 'self-defence' measure despite resistance from higher education officialsThe holders of concealed handgun licences are set to be allowed to carry weapons into public college buildings and classrooms in Texas, after Republicans in the state senate approved the measure as part of a universities spending bill.
Republican senator Jeff Wentworth had been unable to gain the votes he needed to pass the issue as its own bill after it met stiff resistance from higher education officials, particularly from within the University of Texas UT-System.
The senate's 12 Democrats had mostly worked together to block the measure but were powerless to stop it on Monday when a majority in the 31-member chamber got it added to the spending bill as an amendment. » | Associated Press | Tuesday, May 10, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have gone on their honeymoon, 10 days after their Westminster Abbey wedding.Their romantic break was confirmed by St James’s Palace.
On Monday, the couple were seen leaving their Anglesey home with large amounts of luggage[.]
One report claimed that they were heading for the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean.
Prince William and his new bride were expected to go on honeymoon on April 30, the day after their wedding attracted more than a million people to the streets of London. » | Caroline Gammell | Tuesday, May 10, 2011
MAIL ONLINE: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have left for a two-week honeymoon in a secret hideaway in the Indian Ocean.
The newlyweds will stay in an exclusive villa that costs £4,000-a-night and is located on one of the most beautiful and romantic islands in the world.
The Duke and Duchess are believed to have flown out by private jet yesterday before being taken by helicopter from the mainland to the tropical retreat.
William's car was apparently seen leaving Anglesey, north Wales, yesterday accompanied by a police Range Rover piled high with luggage.
A spokesman for St James's Palace said he would not confirm their honeymoon destination, although according to reports, the couple may have headed for the Seychelles. Wish you were heir! Prince William whisks Kate away on a £4,000-a-night tropical honeymoon 'in the Seychelles' » | Rebecca English | Tuesday, May 10, 2011
WIKI: Seychelles »
Lien en relation avec l’article »
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, his wife of 25 years, have separated four months after he ended his time as Governor of California.Miss Shriver moved out of the couple’s mansion near the Pacific Ocean in Brentwood, Los Angeles a few weeks ago.
In a joint statement they said: “This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us. After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion, and prayer, we came to this decision together.
“At this time, we are living apart while we work on the future of our relationship. We are continuing to parent our four children together. They are the light and the centre of both of our lives.” Miss Shriver, 55, is a member of the Kennedy political dynasty. She is the daughter of the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who was a sister of President John F Kennedy.
She previously worked as a television reporter but left that job when Schwarzenegger became Governor of the “Golden State” in 2003.
As California’s first lady she was highly visible and ran an influential annual women’s conference. She also promoted causes including the empowerment of women and research into Alzheimer’s. » | Nick Allen, in Los Angeles | Tuesday, May 10, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Syria has been accused of torturing activists to force them to reveal their passwords to Facebook websites that have sustained the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.
Protest organisers have set up the Syrian Revolution 2011 Facebook page and have promised that "demonstrations will continue every day".
However, amateur video footage showing the violent suppression of protests has dwindled to a trickle amid signs that the regime could be gaining the upper hand after more than seven weeks of anti-government protests.
"The lines of communication have almost been completely severed," one activist said.
"Some of our people who have been taken have been broken under the most severe torture, and they have revealed passwords and names."
Activists admitted that many of the once-secure networks they used on sites such as Facebook and Twitter had been compromised following a campaign of mass detentions in which more than 8,000 protesters have been arrested. » | Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Monday, May 09, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran's hopes of using the Arab Spring to secure regional domination were boosted on Monday as it took a vital step towards strengthening relations with Egypt.
Ali Akbar Salehi, the Iranian foreign minister, announced that one of his deputies would visit Cairo "in the near future" and said that he would hold talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Nabil al-Arabi, in the Indonesian resort of Bali at the end of the month.
It comes as the two states prepare for the full-scale resumption of diplomatic relations in more than 30 years, a development that some observers believe could tilt [the] balance of power in the Middle East in Iran's favour.
Mr Salehi boasted of a flurry of communications between the two capitals as they work towards an exchange of ambassadors, a breakthrough that has alarmed Israel, dismayed Saudi Arabia, Iran's long-standing rival for influence in the Arab world, and caused unease in Washington.
"Currently, many oral and written messages and phone calls are being exchanged between officials of the two sides," Mr Salehi said.
Under Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president ousted in a popular revolution three months ago, relations with Iran were deeply antagonistic. » | Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Monday, May 09, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A priest whose church was at the centre of sectarian riots at the weekend has said Egyptian Christians were "under organised attack" as religious authorities warned the country was at risk of civil war.Armed troops and riot police guarded the streets around St Mena's church and nearby burned-out shops and apartment blocks in the impoverished, crumbling Cairo suburb of Imbaba.
Inside, Father Cherubim Awad said a conspiracy was the only possible explanation for the violence that had engulfed relations between Christians and Muslims in recent weeks.
"Five churches were attacked on the same night," he said. "From the beginning of this year we have had all these attacks in a short space of time.
"There is some hidden hand behind this, whether from inside the country or outside it."
The street battles, which began on Saturday evening outside his church, demonstrated the breakdown in law and order in parts of Egypt that began during the uprising that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak in February.
The police failed to intervene, while Fr Cherubim said that, after several hours, the army moved in to protect the church but not the surrounding buildings, and refused to try to break up the warring sides.
Sectarian violence has increased in Egypt. It began with a church bombing in Alexandria before the uprising began, but has worsened since.
A large gang of Salafi Muslims – followers of a purist sect to which most Islamist terrorist groups are aligned – led the attack on St Mena's, claiming a Christian woman who had converted to Islam to marry a Muslim was being held inside against her will.
"They performed evening prayer 200 metres from the church and after they finished they started shouting 'We want you to leave', meaning the Copts," Fr Cherubim said.
"They were shouting 'Islamiya, Islamiya, Islamiya, with our souls and blood we sacrifice ourselves for the crescent'. » | Richard Spencer, Cairo | Tuesday, May 10, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron’s Coalition has failed to support marriage, unfairly penalised middle-class parents and done “almost nothing” to address the breakdown of families, according to a think tank founded by Iain Duncan Smith.In opposition, Mr Cameron promised to make Britain “the most family-friendly country in Europe” and tackle the social problems arising from break-ups.
But in an audit of the Coalition’s first year in office, the Centre for Social Justice, which was set up by the Work and Pensions Secretary, said little had been done to support marriage and strongly criticised plans to cut child benefit for middle-class parents.
Marking the Coalition’s performance on family policy at just two out of 10, the centre concluded that the deal with the Liberal Democrats had seen family-friendly plans being watered down.
“Compromise to avoid difficult family policy decisions means it’s just business as usual,” the report said. The Coalition’s family policy was “a disappointing continuation of the last government’s failed approach”.
Gavin Poole, the centre’s chief executive, accused the Coalition of “compromise-driven inaction in tackling our devastating culture of family breakdown”. » | James Kirkup, Political Correspondent | Monday, May 09, 2011
Monday, May 09, 2011
MAIL ONLINE: Asma al-Assad refuses to return to Syria / She was born in London and schooled in West Acton / Hundreds more detained as death toll hits 630The glamorous wife of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad is believed to have been living in London with their three children after fleeing the turmoil in her country.
According to Arab diplomatic sources in the UK, Asma al-Assad, 35, arrived in the capital between two and three weeks ago and has refused to return to Syria.
The country run by her husband has been in the grip of an uprising which has seen hundreds killed, opposition leaders rounded up and, in one rebel city, all men over 15 were arrested.
Today, security forces were carrying out house-to-house raids as part of a widening crackdown across the country.
Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the arrests were targeting the demonstrations' organisers and participants. Continue reading and comment » | Daily Mail Reporter | Monday, May 09, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)