Gunther Sachs: Playboys of the World RIP
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Taki Theodoracopulos mourns the passing of Gunther Sachs – and an era when gentlemen played hard and died young

The cliché “end of an era” is always used when a stalwart of a period passes away. I read it in most reports about Gunther Sachs’s suicide last week. The trouble is that Gunther’s era ended long ago, during the late Sixties, when the word “playboy” was considered a badge of honour among those of us who preferred playing rather than working.

It was a sleepy, unhurried, bygone age, yet most of the famous playboys died violently: Alfonso de Portago, a Spanish marquis of impeccable credentials, died at 27 driving his Ferrari in the Miglia Mille race in May 1957 in Italy. Prince Aly Khan, son of the Aga Khan, a diplomat, second husband of Rita Hayworth, and a fabled seducer, died aged 49, driving his Lancia to a Paris party when he hit an oncoming car and was given le coup du lapin by his chauffeur, whom Aly had placed in the back seat.

The greatest playboy of them all, the Dominican diplomat and sportsman Porfirio Rubirosa, five-times married, husband of three of the world’s richest women and two of the most beautiful, died in the park of St Cloud near Paris, returning from a party following a polo game in which I had played. It was 5am and Rubi was driving a Ferrari at full speed. The date was July 6 1965 and he was 56 years old.

Juan Capuro, a South American diplomat perennially posted in Paris and a Don Juan sans pareil, as well as the best-looking man of his generation, died in 1966 driving a Porsche, after an all‑nighter, needless to say. Prince Raimondo Lanza, a nephew of the great Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, and the model for Prince Tancredi in Lampedusa’s elegiac lament for a lost Sicilian world, The Leopard, threw himself out of an Excelsior Hotel window in Rome in 1958, having ingested too much Bolivian marching powder. » | Taki Theodoracopulos | Friday, May 13, 2011

My comment:

Excellent article! Thank you, Sir! It makes a great change from politics, religion, and all the problems of the world. You are obviously a man who appreciates style and class! You, Sir, describe a life most charming. Would that I could have sampled such an enchanting life, if only for a short time. We have degenerated so much as a civilization that people now regard those with tattoos and piercings as “style icons,” the more tattoos, the more piercings the merrier! You, by contrast, describe a very different life. You describe la belle vie pour ceux qui ont apprécié la beauté dans la vie et l'esthétique. Hélas, pour nous aujourd'hui, c’est une epoch passé. – Mark

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New Dark Age Alert! British Woman Beheaded in Tenerife Named
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The British woman beheaded in a Tenerife supermarket has been named as Jennifer Mills-Westley.

Jennifer Mills-Westley, a retired 60-year-old from Norwich, was stabbed to death and beheaded in the horrific attack on Friday.

In a statement, her daughter Sarah, said: "Mum retired a number of years ago and was fully enjoying her retirement travelling between Tenerife and France where she spent time visiting her daughter and grandchildren, and her other daughter in Norfolk.

"She was full of life, generous of heart, would do anything for anyone. We now have to find a way of living without her love and light and we would ask at this difficult time for some privacy as we try to come to terms with our loss.”

Mrs Mills-Westley was said to have reported the threatening behaviour of her attacker, a 28-year-old Bulgarian named Deyan Valentinov Deyanov, to a security guard.

Minutes later the Bulgarian reportedly hacked her to death claiming to be a "prophet of God". » | Fiona Govan, Los Cristianos, Tenerife | Saturday, May 14, 2011

The sadness of this case is unquantifiable. That such a lovely lady in the prime of her life should be attacked in this barbaric way, and here in the West, really does beggar belief. This awful incident can only touch any normal, feeling person to the very fibre of his/her being. May the poor lady rest in peace. – Mark

Russia's Medvedev Takes a Swipe at Putin

Cannes Film Festival – Unlawful Killing: Film about the Death of Diana Likens Prince Philip to Fred West
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Given that its entire £2.5 million budget was paid for by Mohamed Fayed, the conclusions of a new documentary about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales were not entirely unexpected.


The film, called Unlawful Killing, asserts that the Duke of Edinburgh is a “psychopath” in the mould of Fred West, that the Princess was murdered by the Establishment and that the Queen and other members of the Royal family are “gangsters in tiaras”.

As the film was premiered at Cannes, its director, Keith Allen, tried to defend the “ludicrous” slurs on the monarchy as he was accused by the Princess’s closest friend of cashing in on her death.

Allen, best known for playing the Sheriff of Nottingham in the BBC’s Robin Hood TV series, had already upset those closest to the Princess by including a photograph of her lying fatally injured in the back of a car moments after it had crashed in Paris in 1997.

And the astonishing comments about the Royal family which are made in the film have provoked fresh contempt.

Rosa Monckton, the Princess’s best friend, said: “Why is he doing this?

“The only reason he could be doing it is to make money by appealing to the conspiracy theorists.

“I also think he’s an attention seeker.” » | Anita Singh, in Cannes and Gordon Rayner | Friday, May 13, 2011

YOUTUBE: Watch video here

FACEBOOK: Unlawful Killing - The Film - Princess Diana's Death »

Listening Post - Syria: Keeping the Story Alive
Remote online activists battle censorship in Syria. Plus, fake twitter accounts: a growing trend in the world of micro-blogging

Inside Story - Yemen on the Brink
Can the members of the GCC revive their initiative to resolve the crisis?

Iran vs. Saudi Arabia in Bahrain?
THE HUFFINGTON POST: The Iranian meddling in Bahrain was temporarily to be put to a hold. However, the prey, albeit small in acreage, is too lucrative to be let go, and Iranian clandestine intervention continues. Bahrain, a small island kingdom in the Gulf, is coveted by Iran, its neighbor across the bay, as it has a lot to covet. Strategically located near the Hormuz straits, through which 20% of the world's oil passes, with its own production of 40,000 oil barrels a day, and with huge gas reserves, Bahrain is definitely in the sights of the Iranian regime. What makes the Iranian move to indirectly swallow Bahrain a real risk is the fact that 70% of the Bahraini population is Shiite, such as 80% of Iran's population, and the Bahraini Shiites look up to Iran for guidance, or even instructions. » | Haggai Carmon, International Attorney & Author | Friday, May 13, 2011

Inside Story - Expanding the GCC

The International Labour Organisation's Guy Ryder Speaks to Al Jazeera
The ILO's Guy Ryder speaks to Al Jazeera about the mass sackings of workers in Bahrain following a government crackdown on pro-democracy protests

Watch Al Jazeera English Live

Mass Sackings in Bahrain Crackdown
The International Labour Organisation says that over 2,000 mainly Shia workers have either been sacked or suspended from their jobs following a government crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
In the fourth part of Al Jazeera's exclusive series on Bahrain, our correspondent Charles Stratford reports on the mass sackings from Manama

Army to Ditch Danish Bacon
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Army could soon be marching on a breakfast made from entirely British ingredients for the first time in over 40 years, after an innovative experiment involving pig farmers.

Any member of the Armed Forces who is fighting on the front line is entitled to a full English every morning. However, for generations the bacon has not been British because it has been too expensive; instead troops have been offered cheap Danish or Dutch bacon.

The Conservative party, when in opposition, vowed to end this scandal. But latest Ministry of Defence figures indicated that not a single rasher of the £1.5 million-worth of bacon consumed by the Armed Forced over the last year was British.

Now, pig farmers have started an innovative trial with the MoD to ensure that solely British bacon is supplied to troops, even though this country consumes so much bacon it is forced to import more than half of what it eats.

The experiment involves turning 4-year old sow pigs into rashers. Bacon has historically always been made from young male, or boar, pigs. Sows, whose sole purpose is to breed, have been considered tough and inedible in Britain and their meat is sold to German bratwurst makers and Italian salami makers. Long-standing butchers said the only time sow meat, which tends to be very fatty and dark in colour, has been sold as a cut of meat was during rationing in the Second World War. » | Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Editor | Saturday, May 14, 2011

My comment:

I suspected it all along, know this article has proved it: David Cameron is a 'Little Englander.' What a hare-brained idea this is! What on earth is shameful about our military men consuming Danish bacon? We're in the EU, don't you know?! And even if we weren't, there'd still be nothing "shameful" about it.

Were I to be in the forces, having to consume sow bacon would be enough to put me off my full English. Who the hell wants to breakfast on dark, tough, sow bacon? Good God, it's enough to drive a man to Islam – in earlier times I might have said 'to drink,' but I'm sure some nutcase out there would object on the grounds of political correctness, so 'to Islam' will do – I think I'd rather make do with toast and marmalade.

Give me high-quality Danish bacon every time if good quality British bacon isn't available. Cameron can stuff his sow's bacon! Anyway, why can't we afford the best British bacon for our troops? Why does the British government always have to behave like a bunch of cheapskates? I'd bet you dollars to doughnuts that Cameron hasn't been raised on cheap alternatives, so why push them on our military – the men who risk their lives to keep us safe? – © Mark

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British Tenerife Tourist Beheaded by 'Prophet of God' Attacker
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A British woman has been beheaded in front of horrified tourists in a supermarket on the Spanish holiday island of Tenerife, allegedly by a man who claimed he was a 'Prophet of God'.


The woman, who was described as being in her 60s, was in a shop in the town of Arona, about 10 miles from the popular beach resort of Los Christianos [sic], when she was stabbed and then decapitated.

According to witnesses, the attacker, who is thought to be a homeless man of Bulgarian origin, entered the store, grabbed a knife and launched a frenzied and unprovoked assault.

The attacker, who apparently had a history of violent behaviour, then decapitated her before leaving the store carrying her head. Today Spanish newspapers said police had arrested a 28-year-old man named locally as "Deyan Valentinov D", declining to give his full surname.

It was also claimed that he had spent time in a psychiatric hospital and thought he was a "Prophet of God". Local news website site CanariasalDia.com quoted the local mayor, José Reverón, as saying that the man, who lived in a semi-derelict house, had shouted: "God is on Earth".

Mr Reverón added that the attacker was known to local police for his often threatening behaviour in the street, and had once knocked a man's teeth out, raising questions as to why he had not been kept him under closer supervision. » | Andy Bloxham, and Martin Evans | Saturday, May 14, 2011

Related »


The ‘Prophet of God’ Was Known to Be Violent »

NEWS IN THE SUN: Woman Decapitated in Los Cristianos »

EL PAÍS: Un hombre decapita a una mujer en una tienda en Tenerife: El presunto agresor, con antecedentes, entró en el establecimiento y asesinó a la mujer, con la que no consta que tuviera relación » | Pedro Murillo | TENERIFE | Viernes, 13 de mayo 2011

US Withholds Full Recognition for Libya Rebels
White House says rebel council is "legitimate" voice of Libyans, but witholds full diplomatic recognition

US Politicians Talk Bahrain
Some US politicians are now calling for the White House to take action against Bahrain for its human rights violations. Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halkett reports from Washington D.C.

Al Jazeera Speaks to Arsalan Iftikhar
Italian foreign minister on Thursday said that the international criminal court will likely issue an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Al Jazeera spoke to Arsalan Iftikhar, an international human rights lawyer, on the issue

News Bulletin - 04:30GMT Update
The main headlines on Al Jazeera English, featuring the latest news and reports from around the world

Gaddafi Vows to Fight On
Libyan leader denies reports he is injured, as NATO airstrikes on Tripoli continue. Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley reports

Related article »

Obama on the Hit List: Bin Laden Was Plotting to Kill Him during the 2012 Election
MAIL ONLINE: Osama Bin Laden was plotting to assassinate Barack Obama during the 2012 Presidential election, intelligence has revealed.

The Al Qaeda leader was obsessed with killing the U.S. President, who he believed 'violated the Muslim faith'.

Bin Laden took 'very personally' U.S. military campaigns in Afghanistan and the Middle East and was so disgusted, he could not even watch Mr Obama on television.

Videos found in Bin Laden's final hideout in Pakistan show the terror leader at home changing the channel every time Mr Obama comes on, unable to even look at his image.

The extraordinary details emerged from the enormous cache of intelligence seized from Bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad during the raid in which he was killed.

The 200million pages of data give chilling details about Bin Laden's lust for jihad on the West.

The CIA said it learned more from ten days of studying the 'treasure trove' of computers and handwritten journals than in the past ten years.

The terrorist leader had also built up a 'fairly extensive' stash of pornography at his final mansion hideout in Pakistan.

According to CIA sources, until his last days Bin Laden was plotting a terror campaign to target Los Angeles, New York and London that would have topped 9/11.

The planned attacks were part of a campaign to drive Western troops out of the Middle East. Continue reading and comment » | Daniel Bates | Friday, May 13, 2011

Libya Accuses Nato over Bombing of Imams
THE GUARDIAN: Government claims attack by Nato on Brega guest house killed 11 imams as Gaddafi broadcast quashes rumours he had been injured in an air strike

Libyan officials have accused Nato of "barbarically slaying" 11 Islamic imams and wounding 45 others by bombing a guest house in the eastern city of Brega, where they had gathered for a peace march into rebel-held territory.

Officials in Tripoli showed video footage of up to seven corpses whom they identified as imams killed when a bomb was dropped on the building in which they were sleeping.

The group had reportedly travelled to Brega from across the war-torn country. They had appeared on state-run television on Thursday and, according to government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim, planned to move to the nearby city of Ajdabiya on Friday and then to Benghazi.

It was impossible to corroborate the government claims. However, funerals for the victims have been arranged across the country on Saturday and Christian priests joined Muslim leaders in condemning the deaths at a central Tripoli mosque late on Friday.

Nato had not offered a detailed response to the Libyan claims by Friday night. A Nato official initially said the site hit had been a "command and control centre" for the Libyan military, but did not elaborate further. » | Martin Chulov | Friday, May 13, 2011

Iran to Blind Criminal with Acid in 'Eye for an Eye' Justice
THE GUARDIAN: Retribution granted to woman who had acid thrown in her face by man she refused to marry

In a literal application of the sharia law of an eye for an eye, Iran is ready for the first time to blind a man with acid, after he was found guilty of doing the same to a woman who refused to marry him.

Majid Movahedi, 30, is scheduled to be rendered unconscious in Tehran's judiciary hospital at noon on Saturday while Ameneh Bahrami, his victim, drops acid in both his eyes, her lawyer said.

Bahrami who had asked for an eye for an eye retribution in the court, was disfigured and blinded by Movahedi in 2004 when he threw a jar of acid in her face while she was returning home from work. "He was holding a red container in his hand. He looked into my eyes for a second and threw the contents of the red container into my face," she told the court in 2008.

According to Iranian media, Bahrami's lawyer, Ali Sarafi, has said: "A very good sentence has been given and an appropriate method has been adopted so that the convict will be blinded by few drops of acids in eyes after he is rendered unconscious."

In a highly publicised dossier in November 2008, a criminal court in Tehran ordered qisas (retribution) on Movahedi after he admitted throwing acid at Bahrami, and entitled her to blind him with acid. He was also required to pay compensation to the victim. Bahrami refused to accept the "blood money" and told the court: "Inflict the same life on him that he inflicted on me." » | Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Friday, May 13, 2011

Tahrir Square Fills Again as Egypt Holds Mubarak's Wife for Crimes against State
THE GUARDIAN: Largest rally in recent weeks comes on day ousted president's wife detained on suspicion of illegally acquiring wealth

Tens of thousands of Egyptians returned to Tahrir Square in Cairo on Friday in a show of national unity against sectarian tension, and to demonstrate their solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The largest rally to be held in the Egyptian capital in recent weeks took place as Suzanne Mubarak, wife of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, was detained by investigators for 15 days on suspicion of illegally acquiring wealth.

Cheers erupted in the square as news broke of Mrs Mubarak's incarceration. The 70-year-old former first lady now joins her husband, two sons and more than 20 other ministers and business figures from the Mubarak regime on the list of those being investigated for crimes against the state.

Last week former interior minister Habib Al-Adly was sentenced to 12 years in prison for financial fraud. He also stands accused of having ordered the killing of peaceful protesters, a charge that can carry the death penalty.

In a sign of how vibrant and fragmented Egypt's political landscape has become since the toppling of Mubarak in February, protesters came together on Friday to support a multitude of causes from local anti-corruption campaigns to unity with Arab uprisings elsewhere in the region.

Following a week of sectarian violence in Cairo in which at least 15 people were killed in clashes at a church in the poor neighbourhood of Imbaba, many demonstrators held aloft placards depicting the Christian cross and Muslim crescent, and chanted: "We are all Egyptians." » | Jack Shenker in Cairo | Friday, May 13, 2011

Blue: No Goodbyes

John Galliano to Stand Trial in June
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: John Galliano will stand trial on June 22 on charges of verbally abusing three people with anti-Semitic and racist slurs, according to a Paris court.

The criminal trial to determine what happened in February and October at a Paris café where the three say the 50-year-old accosted them will last a day, the court said. Galliano, who did not attend the hearing, has said he was provoked.

"The question is to know who said what at what moment," Galliano lawyer Aurelien Hamelle said before the hearing.

The Gibraltar-born designer's behaviour prompted a swift departure from the 65-year-old Paris fashion house, which also owns Galliano's namesake label. Galliano was fired less than a week after being arrested when a drunken rant led a couple to call police to a café in the fashionable third arrondissement, when a third person came forward to say she had been insulted by the designer and a video of a slurring Galliano was posted on the website of The Sun newspaper.

Galliano, who filed defamation claims against the couple in February, added to his legal turmoil last week, when he filed a criminal claim alleging his former lawyer Stephane Zerbib embezzled 2.8 million euros (£2.5 million) from Galliano's company, Cheyenne Freedom. » | Thursday, May 12, 2011

Osama bin Laden Dead: Taliban Suicide Bombers Kill 80 in Pakistan Revenge Attack
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Two suicide bombers have killed at least 80 people at a paramilitary training centre in northwestern Pakistan in apparent revenge for the killing of Osama bin Laden.

The Pakistan Taliban immediately claimed responsibility and said bigger attacks were to follow.

The attack on Friday morning in Charsadda district is the bloodiest since US forces killed bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2.

A suicide bomber on a motorbike struck at the gates just as young recruits boarded buses to go on leave after their course.

Police in Shabqadar, close to the border with Afghanistan, said a second explosion came seconds later.

At least 65 of the dead were recruits at the Frontier Constabulary training site while the rest were civilians. More than 100 people were also injured.

"This was the first revenge for Osama's martyrdom. Wait for bigger attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan," Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said afterwards.

"Two of our fedayeen (suicide bombers) carried out these attacks." » | Rob Crilly, in Islamabad and Laura Roberts | Friday, May 13, 2011

Europe Moves to End Passport-free Travel in Migrant Row
THE GUARDIAN: European interior ministers agree to 'radical revision' of Schengen amid fears of a flood of migrants from north Africa

European nations moved to reverse decades of unfettered travel across the continent when a majority of EU governments agreed the need to reinstate national passport controls amid fears of a flood of immigrants fleeing the upheaval in north Africa.

In a serious blow to one of the cornerstones of a united, integrated Europe, EU interior ministers embarked on a radical revision of the passport-free travel regime known as the Schengen system to allow the 26 participating governments to restore border controls.

They also agreed to combat immigration by pressing for "readmission accords" with countries in the Middle East and north Africa to send refugees back to where they came from. » | Ian Traynor | Thursday, May 12, 2011

Verbunden »

THE GUARDIAN: EU warns Denmark over border controls: José Manuel Barroso says he doubts whether Denmark is complying with European and international law » | Ian Traynor in Brussels | Friday May 13, 2011

Osama bin Laden's Youngest Wife Wanted to Be Martyred, Says Family
THE GUARDIAN: The al-Qaida leader's in-laws describe him as a sincere husband and her as a brave woman who was not a fundamentalist

The family of Osama bin Laden's youngest wife have broken their silence to describe how the 29-year-old Yemeni, currently in the custody of security services in Pakistan, refused the chance to leave her husband, saying instead she was determined be "martyred" alongside him.

The relatives of Amal Ahmed al-Sadah, who became the al-Qaida leader's fifth wife in late 1999, spoke of a "sincere" husband – though one who apparently exaggerated tales of his own bravado for the sake of his in-laws.

Sadah, who Pakistani officials say was wounded in the calf during the operation that killed her husband, was among at least a dozen women and children detained by Pakistani security officials after the raid on the Abbottabad compound where Bin Laden had been living for several years. It is believed the American special forces team that carried out the operation was forced to abandon plans to evacuate survivors after losing of one of their four helicopters because of a technical problem.

Among those detained are two other women who have also been identified as wives of Bin Laden by Pakistani officials. However, this is unconfirmed. If true both would be Saudi nationals. The children appear to be a mixture of Bin Laden's own and his grandchildren. They include Sadah's daughter, Safiya, who was born shortly before the 9/11 attacks.

Pakistani officials have repeated that all those detained will be repatriated to their countries of origin. » | jason Burke | Thursday, May 12, 2011

Libya Marks Beginning of a Dangerous New Trend – Russian Foreign Minister

Fears West Is Following Libyan Roadmap for Syria

Osama Bin Laden Emails Weren't Detected By U.S.: Here's Why
THE HUFFINGTON POST: WASHINGTON — Despite having no Internet access in his hideout, Osama bin Laden was a prolific email writer who built a painstaking system that kept him one step ahead of the U.S. government's best eavesdroppers.

His methods, described in new detail to The Associated Press by a counterterrorism official and a second person briefed on the U.S. investigation, served him well for years and frustrated Western efforts to trace him through cyberspace. The arrangement allowed bin Laden to stay in touch worldwide without leaving any digital fingerprints behind.

The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive intelligence analysis.

Bin Laden's system was built on discipline and trust. But it also left behind an extensive archive of email exchanges for the U.S. to scour. The trove of electronic records pulled out of his compound after he was killed last week is revealing thousands of messages and potentially hundreds of email addresses, the AP has learned. » | Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman | Thursday, May 12, 2011

Belief in God Is Part of Human Nature - Oxford Study
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Humans are naturally predisposed to believe in gods and life after death, according to a major three-year international study.

Led by two academics at Oxford University, the £1.9 million study found that human thought processes were “rooted” to religious concepts.

But people living in cities in highly developed countries were less likely to hold religious beliefs than those living a more rural way of life, the researchers found.

The project involved 57 academics in 20 countries around the world, and spanned disciplines including anthropology, psychology, and philosophy.

It set out to establish whether belief in divine beings and an afterlife were ideas simply learned from society or integral to human nature. » | Tim Ross, Religious Affairs Editor | Thursday, May 12, 2011

Muslim Militants Target Prince Harry for Osama Killing
DAILYINDIA.COM: London – A Muslim extremist group has reportedly posted a video in which it has warned Britain's Prince Harry to 'watch his back'.

The Muslims Against Crusades video is said to have been aired in response to a propaganda hate video following the assassination of Osama Bin Laden, the Daily Mail reports.

The three-minute video was posted last week.

It is believed Prince Harry is being targeted to avenge the death of Al Qaeda leader bin Laden, as also for the fact that he dressed as a Nazi and served the British Army in Afghanistan.

The film is designed to incite hatred against Prince Harry - who has recently been promoted to captain in the Army - and it appears to have worked. [Source: Daily India] | ©Asian News International | London| Monday, May 09, 2011

Richard Dart aka Salahuddin Al Britani

Bahrain Targets Shia Religious Sites
Part three in our exclusive series on Bahrain reveals that the government destroyed Shia mosques and religious institutions as part of its crackdown on dissent

Twin Bomb Blasts Kill Scores in Pakistan

Libya Rebels Get Diplomatic Boost
The Libyan opposition seems to be scoring one diplomatic victory after another over Muammar Gaddafi.

The Libyan rebels get a warm welcome from David Cameron, the UK prime minister, as they prepare to meet senior officials in Obama administration.

Cab Driver Banned from Displaying 'Phallic' Cross
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A taxi driver was banned from displaying a crucifix on his dashboard after a teenage customer complained that it looked “phallic”.

Clair Cook, who runs AnD taxis, was asked by her local council to ensure that the object was removed after being told that the 15-year-old boy had been offended by it.

She described the complaint as “ridiculous” and said the driver of the car was a devout Roman Catholic.

Miss Cook claimed that if the symbol had been of any faith other than Christianity, the council would have treated the case with far greater sensitivity.

The row follows a series of previous cases in which employees have been censured for displaying Christian symbols. » | Friday, May 13, 2011

Spain: British Woman Beheaded in Front of Tourists on Spanish Holiday Island Tenerife
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A British woman has been beheaded in front of horrified tourists in a supermarket on the Spanish holiday island of Tenerife.


The woman, who was described as being in her 60s, was in shop in the town of Arona, about 10 miles from the popular beach resort of Los Christianos [sic], when she was brutally stabbed to [death] and then decapitated.

According to witnesses, the attacker, who is thought to be a homeless man of Bulgarian origin, entered the store, grabbed a knife and launched a frenzied and unprovoked attack on the woman.

He then decapitated her before leaving the store carrying her head.

Holidaymakers and locals on the Spanish island described their complete shock and horror after witnessing the scene, which took place at around 10.30am local time (9.30am GMT) on Friday.

British journalist Colin Kirby, 50, who lives in Tenerife, was walking past the store when he saw the attacker emerging. » | Andy Bloxham, and Martin Evans | Friday, May 13, 2011

THE GUARDIAN: British woman beheaded in Tenerife supermarket: Man ran into supermarket on Spanish island, grabbed knife, killed woman then rushed out carrying head » | Giles Tremlett in Madrid and Karen McVeigh | Friday, May 13, 2011

Gaddafi zeigt sich erstmals wieder im TV

US to Spend $30m Fighting Internet Censorship
THE GUARDIAN: America funding technology to break web censorship in repressive regimes, such as China and Iran

The United States is playing a game of "cat and mouse" on the web, funding new technology aimed at breaking internet censorship in repressive regimes including China and Iran, officials have said.

Michael Posner, the US assistant secretary of state for human rights, said projects being funded by the US government included technology that acts as a "slingshot" – identifying censored material and throwing it back on to the web for users to find. The project is part of a $30m (£18m) state department project to encourage civil liberty online.

"We're responding with new tools. This is a cat-and-mouse game. We're trying to stay one step ahead of the cat," Posner said. Censored information would be redirected to email, blogs and other online sources, he said. He would not identify the recipients of funding for "reasons of security".

The comments are part of an overall US strategy to raise the importance of cyberspace in foreign affairs. The Pentagon is preparing to unveil an "international strategy for cyberspace" that will make online security an official domain of warfare like land, sea and air. » | Dominic Rushe in New York | Thursday, May 12, 2011

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu

Libyan TV Shows First Footage of Gaddafi in Two Weeks
THE GUARDIAN: The Libyan leader, not seen in public since 30 April air strike that killed his son, has appeared on state television

Libyan state television has shown footage of Muammar Gaddafi meeting officials in a Tripoli hotel, ending nearly two weeks of doubt over his fate since a Nato air strike killed his son.

The Libyan leader, who had not been seen in public since the 30 April bombing of his Tripoli compound killed his youngest son and three of his grandchildren, appeared on Wednesday in his trademark brown robe, dark sunglasses and black hat accompanied by officials.

"We tell the world these are the representatives of the Libyan tribes," said Gaddafi, pointing to officials and naming a few of them.

"You will be victorious," an old man told Gaddafi, referring to the three-month-old revolt in the North African country against the Libyan leader's 41 years of rule.

A screen behind Gaddafi showed a morning chatshow on al-Jamahirya state television. A zoom-in on the screen showed Wednesday's date displayed in the corner.

Reuters journalists based at the same hotel said rooms had been sealed off during the day for an event, but they had not seen Gaddafi. In the past the Libyan leader has made high-profile entrances accompanied by a large staff of minders and aides. » | Reuters | Thursday, May 12, 2011

Libya: David Cameron Invites Rebels to Open Formal Office in London
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron today invited Libyan rebel leaders to establish a formal office in London, as fighting in the troubled country continued.

The Prime Minister made the offer after holding talks with Mustafa Abdul Jalil, chairman of the Interim National Transitional Council, in Downing Street.

Mr Cameron said the British presence in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi would also be boosted.

He said: "These steps continue our very clear intention to work with the council to ensure Libya has a safe and stable future, free from the tyranny of the Gaddafi regime." » | Thursday, May 12, 2011

Nazi Death Camp Guard John Demjanjuk Found Guilty
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: John Demjanjuk, the former Nazi death camp guard, has been found guilty of almost 30,000 counts of accessory to murder and been jailed for five years.


The judge in the court in Munich said he was convinced that Ukrainian-born Demjanjuk was a guard at the Sobibor death camp "and that as a guard he took part in the murder of at least 28,000 people."

Demjanjuk sat in a wheelchair before the judges as they announced their verdict, but showed no reaction.

The court sentenced him to five years in prison. It was not immediately how much credit he would get for time already served.

Demjanjuk's defense has said it would appeal a conviction.

Prosecutors had called for a six-year jail sentence for Demjanjuk, who was deported to Germany in 2009 from the United States, where he lived for decades after World War II.

Demjanjuk was brought into the packed courtroom in a wheelchair on Friday, as usual, wearing a light-blue baseball cap, dark glasses and an army-like green coat which he took off after arriving.

Demjanjuk has kept silent throughout the proceedings, sitting in a wheelchair or lying on a stretcher. His health was often a cause for concern during the trial, leading to frequent delays. » | Thursday, May 12, 2011

Earthquake Strikes Southeast Spain

Earthquake Hits Southern Spain

THE GUARDIAN: Spain: Lorca shaken by earthquakes – More than 300 troops and extra police with search and rescue teams were being drafted into the city, where 10 died » | Giles Tremlett in Madrid | Thursday, May 12, 2011

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Security Forces Target Bahrain Medics
The second part of Al Jazeera's exclusive report on Bahrain looks at the abuse of medical workers as part of the government's crackdown on dissent