THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama vows to seize 'historic opportunity' in Middle East: President Barack Obama has vowed to seize "a historic opportunity" in the Middle East, pledging US support for human rights in the Middle East and serving notice on leaders who have "turned to repression to remain in power". » | Toby Harnden, Washington | Thursday, May 19, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama vows to seize 'historic opportunity' in Middle East: President Barack Obama has vowed to seize "a historic opportunity" in the Middle East, pledging US support for human rights in the Middle East and serving notice on leaders who have "turned to repression to remain in power". » | Toby Harnden, Washington | Thursday, May 19, 2011
After seven years as governor of California the former action star had been planning to return to the big screen in several movies, including the planned blockbuster "Terminator 5."
On Thursday night, he put all projects on indefinite hold so he could deal with the scandal. Patrick Knapp, his entertainment lawyer, said: "Governor Schwarzenegger is focusing on personal matters and is not willing to commit to any production schedules or timelines. We will resume discussions when Governor Schwarzenegger decides."
The 63-year-old star had been expected to appear next in "Cry Macho," a drama in which he was to play a horse trainer who bonds with a Mexican boy. An animated television series called "The Governator," in which he was to voice the main character, has also been postponed.
Mr Schwarzenegger is facing a potentially bitter divorce battle after his wife Maria Shriver hired a high profile lawyer known as the "Disso Queen" in a step toward ending their 25-year marriage.
Laura Wasser, 42, a glamorous single mother-of-two, earned her nickname handling dissolutions on behalf of some of the entertainment industry's biggest names. Her other clients include Robyn Moore, the wife of troubled "Braveheart" star Mel Gibson, who filed for divorce in 2009. » | Nick Allen, Los Angeles | Thursday, May 19, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Photographs released of Dominique Strauss-Kahn have prompted further anger in France about the treatment of the former presidential hopeful.
The mug shot of the 62-year-old, which was released with his charge sheet, was taken more than 24 hours after he was arrested on charges of sexual assault on a New York hotel chambermaid. It shows him looking exhausted, his eyes downcast and half-closed.
A second photo, obtained by the New York Daily News pictured the former IMF chief in his cell wearing the sleeveless blue smock, which is said to be too bulky to make into a noose and too tough to tear. Mr Strauss-Kahn is said to be on suicide watch after he reportedly "did or said something" to alarm officials during a mental health evaluation.
Several French newspapers and websites refused to publish the photos.
RMC radio said the photo in his cell breached the presumption of innocence of a "man accused of rape, but not yet judged."
"It profoundly shocked us. It responds to the deep instincts of voyeurism and a desire to commit a media and popular lynching. But is contrary to the democratic and republican spirit," the radio said on its website.
Many in France were already outraged at Mr Strauss-Kahn being paraded before the cameras in a "perp walk" before being given the chance to defend himself in court. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Thursday, May 19, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has vowed to seize "a historic opportunity" in the Middle East, pledging US support for human rights in the Middle East and serving notice on leaders who have "turned to repression to remain in power".
The wide-ranging speech from the State Department in Washington, the seat of American diplomacy, was billed by the White House as the most important one by Mr Obama since his address to the Muslim world in Cairo two years ago.
He sought for the first time to align the United States with the "Arab Spring" of uprisings across the Middle East that the White House has been reluctant to embrace fully, proclaiming that America has "a stake not just in the stability of nations, but in the self determination of individuals" in the region.
Mr Obama compared the upheaval in the Middle East and Africa to the American Revolution and the Civil Rights movement, stating that the US was "founded on the believe that people should govern themselves."
"Sometimes, in the course of history, the actions of ordinary citizens spark movements for change because they speak to a longing for freedom that has built up for years. In America, think of the defiance of those patriots in Boston who refused to pay taxes to a King, or the dignity of Rosa Parks as she sat courageously in her seat."
Mr Obama was more explicit about the parameters of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal that ever before. He told Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli premier, that Israel had to accept the Palestinian demand for it to accept the 1967 borders, insisting that a Jewish state "cannot be fulfilled with permanent occupation" of Palestinian lands. » | Toby Harnden, Washington | Thursday, May 19, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Dominique Strauss-Kahn was granted bail on Thursday after he was formally indicted over accusations he tried to rape a hotel maid.
New York State Supreme Court Judge Michael Obus said that MrStrauss-Kahn, 62, can be released on $1 million cash bail, and placed under 24-hour home detention with electronic monitoring - conditions that had been proposed by his lawyers.
The judge also said Mr Strauss-Kahn must have one armed guard at all times at his own expense and have a $5 million insurance bond.
His wife, French television journalist Anne Sinclair, and his daughter Camille Strauss-Kahn had arrived at the court arm in arm. Mr Strauss-Kahn arrived in court looking tired and was wearing a blue shirt, no tie, and a grey jacket.
The indictment, which was made by a grand jury, means formal charges have been brought and the case can proceed to trial if, as expected, he pleads not guilty.
Assistant District Attorney John McConnell told the court: "The proof against him is substantial. It is continuing to grow every day as the investigation continues." » | Jon Swaine, New York | Thursday, May 19, 2011
YNET NEWS: PM expects Obama to reaffirm bush pledges, whereby settlement blocs will remain in Israel
Responding to President Barack Obama’s major Mideast policy speech, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel will not be withdrawing to the 1967 borders as part of a peace deal with the Palestinians.
The PM said that Israel appreciates the president's commitment to peace, but added that he expects Obama to reaffirm US commitments to Israel from 2004. According to the pledges made by then-President George W. Bush, the Jewish state will not be asked to retreat to the 1967 borders and large settlement blocs will remain in Israel's hands.
"Israel believes that in order for peace to prevail, the establishment of a Palestinian state cannot come at the expense of the State of Israel's existence," a statement issued by Netanyahu's office said. "The Palestinians, and not only the United States, must recognize Israel as the Jewish people's nation-state."
The prime minister also stressed that President Bush's pledges were meant to reinforce Israel's Jewish character, by making it clear that Palestinian refugees will be taken in by Palestine and not by Israel.
"Without a solution to the problem of refugees by settling them outside Israel's borders, no territorial concession would end the conflict," Netanyahu's statement said. » | Attila Somfalvi | Thursday, May 19, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama Middle East speech: Palestinian state should be based on 1967 borders: US President Barack Obama said for the first time on Thursday that the borders of Israel and a future Palestinian state should be based on 1967 lines and be completed with land swaps. » | Thursday, May 19, 2011
THE WASHINGTON TIMES – EDITORIAL: The president’s outreach to Islam has failed
President Obama is attempting to salvage his flagging Middle East strategy. In his scheduled speech today on the events in the Middle East and North Africa, Mr. Obama may also try to claim a measure of credit for the changes sweeping the region. This will be a tough sell, especially to the supermajorities of people in that part of the world who simply don’t like America.
The latest polling from the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitude Project shows that Mr. Obama’s much-heralded outreach to the Muslim world has failed. In Egypt, site of the June 2009 Cairo speech that kicked off the effort, the United States has a 20 percent favorability rating, seven points below where it was in 2009. In Pakistan, U.S. approval is 11 percent, a five-point drop since the Cairo speech. These surveys were conducted before the flap over charges of violatingPakistan’s sovereignty in taking down Osama bin Laden. In Jordan andTurkey, two important regional allies, American approval is 13 percent (down 12 points) and 11 percent (down four points) respectively. ForObama defenders who argue he inherited this problem from the George W. Bush administration, note that in 2006, U.S. favorability in Egyptstood at 30 percent and in Pakistan at 27 percent - still not good numbers, but higher than any Mr. Obama has generated. Continue reading and comment » | Editorial | Wednesday May 18, 2011
Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned as head of the International Monetary Fund, as he prepares for a second bail hearing on Thursday - hoping to win his freedom while he awaits trial on allegations of sexual assault.
Strauss-Kahn is accused of attempting to rape a hotel chambermaid in New York.
He is on suicide watch at Rikers Island prison after a judge rejected his first attempt at bail.
His lawyers are offering $1 million bond and home confinement.
Prior to the scandal, Strauss-Khan [sic] was widely expected to run against French President Nicolas Sarkozy in the next elections.
Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull reports.
ABC NEWS: The US Library of Congress says it plans to digitally archive all of the billions of messages known as "tweets" sent on Twitter since its launch four years ago.
"Library to acquire ENTIRE Twitter archive - ALL public tweets, ever, since March 2006!" the Washington-based library, the world's largest, announced in a message on its Twitter account at Twitter.com/librarycongress.
"That's a LOT of tweets, by the way: Twitter processes more than 50 million tweets every day, with the total numbering in the billions," Matt Raymond of the Library of Congress added in a blog post.
Raymond highlighted the "scholarly and research implications" of acquiring the micro-blogging service's archive.
He said the messages being archived include the first-ever "tweet," sent by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, and the one that ran on Barack Obama's Twitter feed when he was elected president. » | AFP | Thursday, April 15, 2011
Kristin Davis said she provided young women for the IMF chief in 2006, as he ran for the French Socialists' presidential nomination, and that one complained about his "aggressive" behaviour.
"He was a client of my agency," she told The Daily Telegraph. "When men abuse women I'm no longer going to protect their identities".
Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, has been charged with sexually attacking a 32-year-old hotel maid at the Manhattan Sofitel on Saturday. He denies the claims and is being held in Rikers Island prison.
Miss Davis, 35, who claims to have a long list of celebrity clients, said Mr Strauss-Kahn called her directly on her mobile phone and paid $1,200 cash for two-hour sessions in hotel rooms.
"He wanted an 'All-American girl', with a fresh face, from the mid-West," she said. "A girl in January 2006 complained he was rough and angry, and said she didn't want to see him again". » | Jon Swaine, New York | Thursday, May 19, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Kristin Davis: Manhattan Madam 'who supplied Dominique Strauss-Kahn with escorts': Dominique Strauss-Kahn hired prostitutes from the “Manhattan Madam” who also served Eliot Spitzer, the disgraced former Governor of New York, Kristin Davis has claimed. Here is a profile of the escort agency owner. » | Andrew Hough | Thursday, May 19, 2011
My comment:
Whilst this man has got a reputation of being a womanizer, and whilst his sexual appetite may be as large as his intellectual appetite, there are certain aspects of this story which simply do not seem to ring true. I have asked the question before: Where is this woman getting the money from to pay for a high-flying New York lawyer? But there are many other apparent inconsistencies, too. At first they said she was a devout Muslim, but photos of her show that she wears short-sleeve dresses, she doesn't cover her hair, and lives in a home for HIV sufferers. In addition, she is a single, unmarried mother. This doesn't add up. These are not the hallmarks of a devout Muslimah.
In addition, it was first stated that she knew exactly who DSK was. Now they are trying to say that she didn't have a clue who he was. By all accounts, he was a regular guest at the Sofitel in Manhattan. How come she didn't know who he was? She had been working there for several years. News of celebrities and famous people travels like wildfire through the corridors of hotel staff. It is simply difficult to swallow this supposed ignorance on her part. In fact, front desk would in all probability have informed her to be extra careful when making up DSK's penthouse suite. That's how it works in exclusive hotels, and more especially for regular, famous customers.
Whilst so many people commenting on newspapers are only too ready to convict DSK even before his trial, I prefer to keep an open mind. Being a womanizer and paying for prostitutes – all of which is certainly nothing to be proud of – in and of itself does not make him guilty in this particular case.
I can't help but have a nagging doubt in my mind that he might have been set up for the purposes of notoriety and fortune. We all know how Americans love a great story, and we all know how fabulously wealthy people there can become when they have a humdinger of a story to sell to the media. And this story is one big humdinger. Whatever the facts of the story, it is to be hoped that the truth will come out in the court. But one thing is for sure: This young chambermaid will not have to clean rooms in any hotel for much longer. I hope her wheelbarrow is large enough to carry the pots of gold to the bank which will soon be coming her way. – © Mark
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned as head of the International Monetary Fund, four days after being charged with the sexual attack of a Manhattan hotel chambermaid.
In a statement released by the Fund in the early hours of Thursday morning, Mr Strauss-Kahn said he needed to "devote all my strength, all my time, and all my energy to proving my innocence".
The 62-year-old Frenchman has been under intense pressure since being arrested in the First Class cabin of on an Air France jet on the tarmac of John F. Kennedy airport on Saturday afternoon.
He is being held at Rikers Island prison after being formally charged with seven crimes related to the alleged assault of a 32-year-old Guinean maid in his suite at the Sofitel earlier that day, including attempted rape and an illegal sexual act. » | Jon Swaine, New York | Thursday, May 19, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Al-Qaeda has released a posthumous message from Osama bin Laden praising the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia and urging Muslims to take advantage of a "rare historic opportunity" to rise up, according to a US monitoring service.
The 12-minute, 37-second audio message posted on jihadist forums by al-Qaeda's media arm As-Sahab addresses Muslims on the revolutions sweeping the Middle East and North Africa, said SITE Intelligence.
Speaking from beyond the grave, bin Laden recommended setting up a council to offer revolutionary advice and decide the best timing to spread revolt across the Muslim world.
"A delay may cause the opportunity to be lost, and carrying it out before the right time will increase the number of casualties," bin Laden says in the audio message, according to SITE's translation.
"I think that the winds of change will blow over the entire Muslim world, with permission from Allah."
He accused rulers of building themselves into idols and manipulating the media to stay in power. » | Thursday, April 19, 2011
Safiya Gaddafi and her daughter Aisha crossed into Tunisia "a few days ago" with a Libyan delegation, according to Tunisian security sources.
The pair are currently at a refugee centre on the island of Djerba. The departure, if confirmed, would be a major blow to Col Gaddafi's embattled regime, already rocked by the apparent defection of the key oil minister, Shukri Ghanem, on Tuesday. » | Andrew Gilligan, Tripoli | Wednesday, April 18, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
A new and deadly drug is causing great concern in Brazil. Called Oxi, it's a derivative of cocaine, but it's much stronger and highly addictive. Many get hooked the first time they try it.
In his second report in a Two-Part series, Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo spoke with one former user in the Brazilian city of Rio Branco, who recounts how the drug almost destroyed his life as well as his family's.
Although she stopped short of an outright apology for the “heartache, turbulence and loss” of the past century, the Queen said: “We can all see things which we would wish had been done differently or not at all.”
The landmark speech during a state dinner at Dublin Castle included a direct reference to the murder of the Duke of Edinburgh’s uncle, Earl Mountbatten, by the IRA, when the Queen said the “events have touched us all, many of us personally”.
But her overriding message was one of “forbearance and conciliation” as she spoke of being able “to bow to the past, but not be bound by it”.
The address to her host, President Mary McAleese, and guests including David Cameron, who joined the British delegation, was the Queen’s only speech of her historic four-day visit to Ireland.
The Queen began her speech by speaking in Gaelic, saying: “A hUachtarain [sic] agus a chaired [uachtarán agus cairde],” or president and friends, earning a warm round of applause. President McAleese was seen to respond by saying “wow”[.]
Dressed in a white silk crepe dress adorned with more than 2,000 hand-embroidered shamrocks and a harp made of crystals, the Queen said she and the Duke were “delighted to be here, and to experience at first hand Ireland’s world-famous hospitality”.
She said the two nations were “good neighbours” which had “much to celebrate”, including the economic and cultural ties “that make us firm friends and equal partners”. » |Wednesday, May 18, 2011
The maid, who works at the Manhattan Sofitel, claims that on Saturday the IMF managing director locked her in his $3,000-a-night suite, attempted to rape her and forced her to give him oral sex.
The maid was on Wednesday night due to testify before a New York grand jury, which is considering whether or not there is enough evidence to prosecute Mr Strauss-Kahn. If it decides there is, the grand jury, which sits in secret, will issue an indictment that will form the basis of the prosecution in Mr Strauss-Kahn's trial.
The 32-year-old Guinean, who is not being named due to the nature of the alleged attack, has lived in an apartment in The Bronx, the northernmost borough of New York City, since January this year.
The property, where she lives with her 15-year-old daughter, is rented out by the Harlem United Community Aids Center, which provides services including housing to local HIV-positive people.
Typically an adult in the household must be HIV-positive or have Aids to be eligible for one of the group's properties. The maid lived in another Harlem United property from 2008 to this year. » | Jon Swaine, New York | Wednesday, May 18, 2011
"Ce qu'un étranger comprend avec le plus de peine aux États-Unis, c'est l'organisation judiciaire", notait Tocqueville. Depuis l'arrestation de DSK, les Français sont abreuvés de savantes exégèses sur le fonctionnement de la justice américaine.
Des avocats, professeurs de droit et spécialistes de tout poil se relaient inlassablement - au risque de lasser - pour expliquer doctement le cheminement compliqué de la procédure qui frappe le patron du FMI. Nos compatriotes ne devraient plus rien ignorer des subtilités de l'arraignment (lecture de l'acte d'accusation) du grand jury, du rôle du procureur, de celui des avocats, des arrangements possibles. » | Pierre Beylau, rédacteur en chef monde | Mercredi 18 Mai 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Manhattan hotel chambermaid who was allegedly sexually attacked by Dominique Strauss-Kahn has had her 'world turned upside down', her lawyer said.
In his first public comments since taking on the 32-year-old Sofitel maid's case, Jeffrey Shapiro said the trauma she experienced during and after the alleged assault had been "extraordinary".
The maid alleges that when she arrived to clean the IMF managing director's suite at noon on Saturday, he locked her inside, attempted to rape her and forced her to give him oral sex.
Before the alleged attack, she lived in a small flat in The Bronx, the northernmost borough of New York City, with her teenage daughter.
"Her world has been turned upside down," said Mr Shapiro. "This is a person who was a hardworking woman, she's a single mother supporting a 15-year-old young woman. They live together.
"And she was grateful to have a job, through which she could provide food and shelter for the two of them," he told CNN. » | Jon Swaine, New York | Tuesday, May 17, 2011
MAIL ONLINE: A British tourist called the Islamic prophet Muhammad a terrorist in a heated row with an electronics salesman in a Dubai shopping mall, a court heard yesterday.
Andrew Graham, 40, faces spending a year in a Dubai jail if he is convicted of insulting Islam.
The holidaymaker was wandering through the Mall of the Emirates when he got into an argument with Hassan Habeeb, a 21-year-old salesman from Pakistan.
During the row, Graham allegedly said that ‘Muslims in Pakistan are not normal because they kill each other and kill people outside Pakistan’.
Mr Habeeb tried to tell the Briton that Muslims are ‘peaceful people and are all brothers who help each other’.
In a written statement produced before the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours yesterday, the Pakistani salesman said: ‘He laughed and said that I’m crazy and that prophet Muhammad was not a peaceful man but he is a terrorist.’
Mr Habeeb then became angry and tried to punch Graham, only for a customer to intervene, it was said.
The tourist was then taken to a police station and charged with swearing in public and insulting Islam.
Yesterday Graham appeared in court wearing shorts and was ordered to change into trousers by the judge on the grounds of decency.
Once in the appropriate attire, he pleaded not guilty to the charges. » | Arthur Martin | Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the IMF chief, was widely expected to run in France's presidential elections next year.
But the sexual assault charges have effectively shattered those ambitions and boosted president Sarkozy's chances of re-election.
But Sarkozy's poll ratings remain low, and a new film about his life is unlikely to help.
Jonah Hull reports on "La Conquete" [sic], or "The Conquest", a less than flattering story of Sarkozy's lust and quest for power. [May 18, 2010]
After three months of conflict and popular protest in Libya, international pressure on Muammar Gaddafi is mounting, and with increased NATO airstrikes and ICC arrest warrants now in the frame.
But how long can NATO keep up the bombardment, with a limited mandate to operate in, and Gaddaffi showing no sign of stepping down?
Inside Story, with presenter Kamahl Santamaria, discusses with Tarik Youssef, senior research fellow at the Dubai School of Government; David Metham, UK director for Human Rights Watch and Saad Djebbar, international lawyer, and deputy director for the Centre of North African studies at Cambridge University.
This episode of Inside Story aired from [sic] Tuesday, May 17, 2011.
THE NEW YORK TIMES: SINCE Sunday, when Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, was arrested on sexual assault charges in New York, French politicians have been loudly expressing their horrorat his “violent” treatment at the hands of America’s criminal justice system. It must be a shock to them: the sight of a top French establishment figure being treated like an ordinary criminal is about as rare as a photo of the Queen of England in a bikini.
But they are not merely voicing their concern for an esteemed colleague; many of them are also thinking, “There but for the grace of God (or rather the grace of living in France and not the United States) go I.”
France may think it had a revolution, but in fact it just got a new, and even more powerful, elite. They believe themselves so indispensable to the running of the country that trying to topple one of them is a bit like threatening to shoot a prize racehorse for nibbling your lawn. You’re meant to shut up and let them nibble.
This is why the French establishment sees Mr. Strauss-Kahn — rather than the traumatized chambermaid the police say he attacked — as the victim. The same case would never have come out in the open in Paris. The woman would have been quietly asked whether she thought it was worth risking her job and her residence permit. She would have been reminded that it was her word against his, and frankly, whom would people believe? The witty, famous man with the influential friends, or the nobody? » | Op-Ed | Stephen Clarke* | Tuesday, May 17, 2011
* Stephen Clarke is the author of “1,000 Years of Annoying the French.”
MAIL ONLINE: DSK Shouldn’t Lead Women Claims Blonde Banker »
MAIL ONLINE: An Avalanche of Women Point the Finger at DSK »
MAIL ONLINE: A Whole Prison Wing to Himself: The Extraordinary Measures Being Taken to Ensure DSK’s Safety »
MAIL ONLINE: French Furious over US’s Handling of DSK’s Case, Claim French Law Is Superior »
Considered the Socialist party’s leading candidate for president of France, Mr. Strauss-Kahn identified three threats to his aspirations in an interview with the newspaper Libération, held on April 28 but published only this week. “Money, women and my Jewishness,” he said. “Yes, I like women,” he went on. “So what?”
Mr. Strauss-Kahn added, “For years they’ve been talking about photos of giant orgies, but I’ve never seen anything come out.”
Today, Mr. Strauss-Kahn sits in a jail cell on Rikers Island in New York, his reputation — and any political ambitions — perhaps irreparably tarnished by his arrest on charges of attempted rape of a hotel maid in Manhattan last weekend.
It is a humbling comedown for Mr. Strauss-Kahn, whose rise on the world stage has been marked by contradictions. » | Landon Thomas Jnr. and Steven Erlanger | Tuesday, May 17, 2011
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Powerful and Primitive » | Op-Ed | Maureen Dowd | Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Pressure is building on Dominique Strauss-Kahn to resign as head of the International Monetary Fund, with the US treasury chief and European finance ministers questioning if he can carry on in the light of his arrest.
In a speech in New York on Tuesday, Tim Geithner, the US treasury secretary, said Strauss-Khan was "obviously not in a position to run the IMF". He said: "I think it's important that the board of the IMF formally put in place for an interim period somebody to act as managing director."
Geithner's comments came after Austria's finance minister, Maria Fekter, and others, said Strauss-Kahn was damaging the IMF: "Considering the situation, that bail was denied, he has to figure out for himself, that he is hurting the institution," she told journalists at a meeting of European finance ministers in Brussels.
Strauss-Kahn is being held in isolation at the notorious Rikers Island in New York, having been refused bail after denying charges of a sexual assault on a 32-year-old chambermaid. His lawyers are expected to reapply for bail on Friday; one New York tabloid reported they might be preparing to argue sexual contact was consensual.
A grand jury is meeting in private to decide whether evidence is strong enough for a case to proceed over the alleged attack in a luxury Manhattan hotel suite. Jurors will announce their decision on Friday. » | Dominic Rushe in New York and Angelique Chrisafis in Paris | Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Dominique Strauss-Kahn is now on a suicide watch after spending his first full day in a New York City jail.
The International Monetary Fund chief is accused of trying to rape a hotel maid.
Strauss-Kahn is under increasing pressure to resign.
Timothy Geitner, the US treasury secretary, says he's obviously not in a position to run the institution.
Al Jazeera's Kristen Saloomey reports from New York.
EURONEWS: US Treasury Chief Calls on IMF to Replace DSK: The media frenzy continues to swirl around Dominique Strauss-Kahn. The pressure has mounted to such an extent that the Secretary of the US Treasury now says the IMF should appoint an interim chief to replace the 62-year-old Frenchman. (+video) » | Wednesday, May 18, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Dominique Strauss-Kahn maid 'feels alone in the world': Hotel maid from Guinea feels 'threatened' by global attention and wants to remain anonymous, says lawyer » | Associated Press | Wednesday, May 18, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Denmark plans to lay claim to the North Pole and other areas in the Arctic, where melting ice is creating new shipping routes, fishing grounds and drilling opportunities for oil and gas, according to a leaked government document.
The draft document titled "Strategy for the Arctic" said Denmark's Science Ministry has started collecting data to formally submit a claim for several areas to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf no later than 2014.
To be successful, the Danes will have to present evidence proving that the North Pole is geologically linked to Greenland - which has been part of Denmark for more than 600 years[.]
Russia, Norway, Canada and the US have their own claims - sometimes competing - in a region believed to hold as much as 25 per cent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas.
The Danish government confirmed the authenticity of the document, which was first obtained by Danish Radio and published online by newspaper Information.
Denmark has for years explored potential claims to areas off Greenland, a semiautonomous territory, but this is the first time the government explicitly states it will make a claim for the North Pole, said Martin Breum, a Danish journalist who has written a book about Denmark's interests in the Arctic. » | Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Stefan De Clerck, a Flemish Christian Democrat, has polarized Belgium, fuelling the country's one year political crisis, by supporting a blanket amnesty for the 56,000 Belgians who were convicted of collaborating with the Nazis after the war.
"Perhaps we should be willing to forget, because it is the past. At some point one has to be adult and be willing to talk about. perhaps to forget, because this is the past," he said at the weekend.
The Simon Wiesenthal centre has sent a letter to Yves Leterme, the Belgian Prime Minister, accusing the minister of a "betrayal of history, his obfuscation of its lessons and his contempt for the very concept of justice."
Around 25,000 Belgian Jews were deported to Auschwitz from the Mechelen army barracks, north of Brussels, after being rounded up by authorities that often enthusiastically collaborated with the Nazis despite strong resistance from Belgium's people. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Today has been a very difficult blogging day: Posts have suddely appeared from nowhere; blogs have suddenly disappeared to somewhere. Fact is, someone is hacking my website. Unfortunately, it is difficult to tell exactly who it is. What is easy to tell is this: It is most unpleasant. It causes work without need; it causes too much disruption. I therefore ask the SOB to cease and disist. Ultimately, he will gain nothing from his small-minded endeavours.
Meanwhile, you, dear reader, if you find something strange going on, please bear in mind that this site is being hacked. Therefore, strange things can happened at any time, anywhere. I’ll keep you posted. – © Mark
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president, is to make a public apology for abuse of power and offer to hand back his wealth in a bid to win an amnesty from the country's new rulers, according to reports.Mr Mubarak has offered to read a statement on state television apologising for "misconduct" arising from listening to poor advice, the Shorouk newspaper said.
Indications that this was part of a plea bargain were strengthened when the justice ministry released Mr Mubarak's wife, Suzanne, from custody, after she handed investigators power of attorney to clear out her bank account of £2 million and take possession of a house in Cairo.
Under Egyptian law, prosecutors can waive charges for financial crimes if the money involved is restored.
Mrs Mubarak, 70, joined her husband under arrest in a hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh, where they have been living since he was forced from office in February, on Friday. It was feared she had suffered a heart attack after suffering chest pains during interrogation.
The report in Shorouk claimed that the attempt to forge a deal to avoid the Mubaraks being jailed was mediated by "other Arab and Gulf states". Saudi Arabia, one of Mr Mubarak's principal backers in his 30 years in power, was known to be furious that he was ousted from office. » | Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Tuesday, May 17, 2011
It was a Hollywood marriage with a shock ending - after splitting up from his wife of 25 years, Arnold Schwarzenengger has admitted he fathered a child with an ex- employee.
The former governor of California has confessed to an affair with a woman who worked for the family for twenty years.
And ten years ago, that affair produced a baby.
Al Jazeera's Gerald Tan reports.
DIE PRESSE: Der Ex-Präsident entschuldigt sich, auch im "Namen seiner Familie" und bittet um Vergebung. Seine Frau ist wieder auf freiem Fuß.Der ägyptische Ex-Präsident Hosni Mubarak (83) will angeblich um Gnade für sich und seine Familie bitten. Außerdem sei der im Februar entmachtete Staatschef dabei, eine Audio-Botschaft aufzunehmen, die er über ägyptische und arabische Sender verbreiten lassen will. Darin bitte er die Bevölkerung für jegliches Unrecht um Verzeihung, auch im Namen seiner Familie, berichtete die Kairoer Tageszeitung "Al-Shorouk" am Dienstag.
Er entschuldige sich für Fehler. In dieser Botschaft wolle Mubarak, der fast dreißig Jahre lang Präsident von Ägypten war, an seine früheren Verdienste als Soldat erinnern. Außerdem werde er versprechen, im Falle einer Amnestie den gesamten Besitz seiner Familie dem Staat zu überschreiben und sich
Mubaraks Frau Suzanne überschrieb ihre Vermögenswerte bereits dem Staat, die Anti-Korruptionsbehörde ließ daraufhin den Haftbefehl gegen die 70-Jährige nach vier Tagen wieder aufheben. Der Wert des überschriebenen Besitzes wurde mit umgerechnet knapp 2,9 Millionen Euro angegeben. » | Ag. | Dienstag, 17. Mai 2011
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