Record Republican Turnout Forecast in New Hampshire Primary
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Reporting from Manchester, N.H.—

The polls are open through most of New Hampshire, where a record turnout is forecast for the nation's first presidential primary.

New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner, overseeing his ninth presidential primary, estimated that a quarter of a million ballots could be cast in the GOP race, which would exceed the nearly 240,000 ballots cast four years ago.

Pre-election surveys suggest that Mitt Romney has an insurmountable lead, but a fierce battle was nonetheless waged in the final days as other candidates fought to beat expectations in anticipation of the next primary in South Carolina.

The final Suffolk University tracking poll saw Romney ticking up four percentage points in the final day. He led Ron Paul 37%-18%.

A win for Romney would be unprecedented in this respect: No Republican has ever won both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. Romney's eight-vote advantage in Iowa has not yet been certified, though GOP officials there said they didn't expect the result to change.

In his closing argument to voters Monday night, Romney said he wanted a more convincing win here.

"You're going to make a statement tomorrow," he said at a rally in Bedford. "Give me the boost I need." » | Michael A. Memoli | Tuesday, January 10, 2012

New Hampshire Primary: Mitt Romney Favourite as Rivals Jostle to Be Runner-up
THE GUARDIAN: Lingering doubts about frontrunner on display in midnight vote at Dixville Notch where two out of six vote Romney


Despite some last-minute gaffes, Mitt Romney remains the overwhelming favourite to win the New Hampshire presidential primary, but the margin of victory could determine whether he quickly clinches the Republican nomination or faces a gruelling battle.

His five opponents will try to shrug off a Romney victory as the expected outcome for a former governor of next-door Massachusetts who owns a vacation home on a New Hampshire lake. But a surprisingly strong finish from one of his rivals will be played up as more evidence that Republicans still have their doubts about Romney.

Those doubts were on display in Dixville Notch, the tiny New Hampshire village that traditionally votes at midnight. Romney received two of the six votes cast in the Republican primary. So did Jon Huntsman. Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul received a vote apiece. President Barack Obama got three votes in the Democratic primary.

The rest of New Hampshire voters go to the polls on Tuesday after receiving months of attention from the Republican candidates and witnessing an increasingly sharp tone in the intra-party struggle for the nomination. » | Associated Press in New Hampshire | Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Iran Facing Condemnation after Sentencing US 'Spy' to Death
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran faced worldwide censure after a court in Tehran sentenced an American former marine of Iranian descent to death on spying charges.


Amir Mirzai Hekmati was found guilty of "spreading corruption on earth and waging war against God", a formulation routinely used against those to be considered enemies of the state and which carries a mandatory death sentence.

Hekmati, who is 28, was "sentenced to death for co-operating with a hostile nation, membership of the CIA and trying to implicate in terrorism," a judge ruled.

The former marine received espionage training at US bases in Afghanistan and Iran, prosecutors said. Hekmati, who worked as a translator for the US army, was shown on state television last month confessing his crimes.

He also admitted to working for a CIA-backed company that produced computer games manipulating users into holding pro-American views. » | Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Monday, January 09, 2012

Related »

Blow to Obama as Chief of Staff Resigns
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama’s chief of staff has resigned after a troubled year in one of the most powerful roles in American politics.


Bill Daley, a former Clinton administration official and a member of a Chicago political dynasty, made the surprise decision to stand down less than 12 months into a tenure which saw growing frustration as the President’s agenda stalled in Congress.

Speaking at the White House, the President said the resignation “was not easy news to hear” and that he only accepted it last week after asking Mr Daley to take a day to reconsider.

Mr Obama said that Mr Daley, 63, was leaving to return to Chicago and spend more time with his family but the former investment banker’s frustration with his role has long been public knowledge.

In an interview last October, Mr Daley said that the political and economic climate of the first three years of the Obama administration had been “brutal” and “very, very difficult”, adding: “On the domestic side both Democrats and Republicans have made it very difficult for the President to be anything like a chief executive.” » | Raf Sanchez, Washington | Monday, January 09, 2012

Mitt Romney's 'Firing People' Blunder Offers Gift to Rivals on Eve of Primary

THE GUARDIAN: Republican frontrunner's statement that 'I like being able to fire people' likely to be seized on in attack ads

Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney offered his political rivals a gift on Monday when he volunteered that he liked firing people – an unfortunate remark just as his opponents launched millions of dollars in campaign ads labelling him a heartless corporate raider.

Speaking on the eve of Tuesday's Republican primary in New Hampshire, he said: "I like being able to fire people who provide services to me." He was referring not to making workers redundant but defending the free market, the ability to swap providers if service is poor. But, given the cynical way ads have been distorted so far in the 2012 campaign, there is a strong chance his remarks will be seized upon for use in attack ads, using just the words "I like being able to fire people".

It is a potential election bonus not just for the Democratic party but for the remaining Republicans in the race for the party's nominations. It came as supporters of one of Romney's fiercest and angriest Republican rivals, former House Speaker, Newt Gingrich, released a trailer for an ad which will cost a staggering $3.4m to air.

The ad – paid for by one of the new breed of super political action committees (super PACs), which have unrestricted spending limits as a result of a supreme court ruling – details the devastation allegedly caused by layoffs in firms taken over by Romney when he was chief executive of the Bain investment company.

The ad is revenge for Gingrich, who was on the receiving end of a $3.5m ad onslaught in Iowa by Romney and his super PAC over the Christmas and New Year period that helped demolish Gingrich's poll lead in the state. » | Ewen MacAskill in Nashua, New Hampshire | Monday, January 09, 2012

Iran Sentences US Citizen to Death 'for Spying'
An Iranian court has convicted a US man of working for the CIA and sentenced him to death, state radio reported.

Iran says that Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, a former US military translator, received special training and served at US military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan before heading to Iran for his alleged intelligence mission.

The radio report on Monday did not say when the verdict was issued. Under Iranian law, Hekmati has 20 days to appeal.

Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston reports.


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The Decline of the American Empire
As the world is undergoing a profound transformation, what role will the US play in a post-American century?

Sirte Citizens Lament Tough Life Post-Gaddafi
Nearly three months after the death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, tensions remain high in his hometown of Sirte. Angry residents say attacks by rebel fighters and NATO have left them homeless and poor, with some saying life was better under Gaddafi. Al Jazeera's Imran Khan reports from Sirte.

Socialism and Welfare: Republicans Bash Europe in Search of Votes

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Europe is socialist, bloated and a threat to the global economy. That appears to be the message from the ongoing presidential campaign in the US. Republicans in particular have discovered Europe as a convenient punching bag -- and have even begun accusing each other of being too "European."

An apparition is stalking the United States. That, at least, is what the Republicans seem to believe in this election season. And the apparition has a name: Europe.

US President Baracka Obama, said leading Republican candidate Mitt Romney during the Republican debate on Saturday, wants to turn the US into a "European welfare state." At a weekend appearance in New Hampshire, site of a crucial primary vote on Tuesday, Romney said "I don't believe in Europe. I believe in America."

In an election year overshadowed by the threats posed by the European economy and concerns about the break-up of the European common currency, it is a message that Romney has been delivering every chance he gets. And he's not alone. Europe bashing has become an important stump-speech cornerstone for the entire Republican field. The message, as Romney never tires of delivering it, is clear: "I don't think Europe is working in Europe. I know it won't work here." » | Sebastian Fischer in Manchester, New Hampshire | Monday, January 09, 2012

Related »

Militärische Reaktion: USA warnen Iran vor Überschreitung "roter Linie"
WELT ONLINE: US-Verteidigungsminister Panetta hat dem Iran mit einer militärischen Reaktion im Falle der Sperrung der Seestraße von Hormus gedroht. Iran plant weitere Manöver.

Der Atomstreit zwischen dem Westen und dem Iran spitzt sich von Tag zu Tag weiter zu. Die USA schickten am Sonntag eine ungewöhnlich deutliche Warnung an die Adresse der Führung in Teheran. Der Iran überschreite eine „rote Linie“, wenn er Atomwaffen entwickeln oder wichtige Schifffahrtswege blockieren sollte, sagte Verteidigungsminister Leon Panetta. » | dpa/AFP/sara/fbr | Sonntag 08. Januar 2012

White House 'Covered Up' Tim Burton-staged Alice in Wonderland Halloween Party

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The White House covered up an Alice in Wonderland-themed Halloween party staged by film director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp for fear of creating the wrong impression during a recession, a new book on the Obamas has claimed.

Depp greeted guests in the costume he had worn in a film version of the Lewis Carroll story released around the same time by Burton, who was given carte blanche to transform the state dining room into a Mad Hatter's tea party in "his signature creepy-comic style".

A long table was "set with antique-looking linens, enormous stuffed animals in chairs, and tiered serving plates with treats like bone-shaped meringue cookies", writes New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor in The Obamas, which is released on Tuesday. Fruit punch was served in blood vials at the bar, she adds.

George Lucas sent Chewbacca from Star Wars to mingle with invited guests, who included the Obamas' two daughters Malia and Sasha and friends, the children of White House staff members and military families.

The White House press corps was allowed to report on more modest festivities earlier that day for Washington-area school children, but did not release details of the more glamorous festivities that occurred later for what was the Obamas' first Halloween in office in 2009.

The only images released showed the first couple greeting children outside the dining room, with Michelle Obama in a leopard fancy dress costume. Read on and comment » | Alex Spillius | Sunday, January 08, 2012

Kim Jong-il's Death: News Was Broken by Mourning North Korean Magpies
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The passing of North Korean strongman Kim Jong-il has been marked by plunging temperatures, mourning bears and now, according to North Korean state media, by flocks of magpies.

Kim, who died in December aged 69 years after 17 years running the world's most reclusive state, was reputed to be able to control the weather, as well as to have scored a miraculous 38 under par round of golf.

"At around 17:30 on December 19, 2011, hundreds of magpies appeared from nowhere and hovered over a statue of President Kim Il Sung on Changdok School campus in Mangyongdae District, clattering as if they were telling him the sad news," state news agency KCNA reported on Monday. » | Monday, January 09, 2012

Iran Sentences American to Death for Spying
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: An American ex-Marine, who also holds Iranian citizenship, has been sentenced to death by an Iran judge for spying for the CIA, the Fars news agency reported on Monday.

Amir Mirzai Hekmati, 28, was "sentenced to death for co-operating with a hostile nation, membership of the CIA and trying to implicate Iran in terrorism," the verdict said, according to Fars.

Hekmati, who was born in the United States to an Iranian immigrant family, was shown on Iranian state television in mid-December saying in fluent Farsi and English that he was a Central Intelligence Agency operative sent to infiltrate the Iranian intelligence ministry.

He had been arrested months earlier. » | Monday, January 09, 2012

THE GUARDIAN: Iranian court sentences 'CIA agent' to death: • Father of Amir Hekmati says he was just visiting family • Iranian media says country has started enriching uranium ¶ Iran has sentenced an American citizen to death and reports have emerged that the country has started enriching uranium underground in a show of defiance of western sanctions. ¶ The man, Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, an Iranian-American born in Arizona in 1983, was shown on Iranian television in December confessing to being a CIA agent, sent to gain the trust of the Iranian government by pretending to offer US state secrets. Hekmati's father said he had gone to Iran to visit his grandmother. » | Julian Borger, diplomatic editor | Monday, January 09, 2012

Malaysian Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim Cleared of Sodomy Charges

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Malaysia's charismatic opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was cleared of sodomy charges on Monday, opening the way for a challenge this year to the ruling party that has governed for over 50 years since independence from Britain.

The unexpected verdict, which hinged on the judge's decision that DNA evidence presented by the prosecution was unreliable, sparked scenes of wild jubilation from his supporters in the Kuala Lumpur court and tears of joy from his wife and children.

Mr Anwar, 64, said he was "pleasantly shocked" by the verdict, which he has long alleged would be fixed by Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak on the trumped up charges to smear him and keep him out of politics.

But the government said the verdict in the case clearly underscored the judiciary's independence and illustrated it was listening to demands for reform among an electorate, which has an eye on the Arab Spring protests. » | Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok | Monday, January 09, 2012

Norway Killer Anders Behring Breivik Permitted to Receive Visitors from Tuesday

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian far-right terrorist, will be allowed to receive visitors for the first time from Tuesday, after state prosecutors decided not to apply for continued restrictions.

The decision will open the way for Mr Breivik to give his first interviews with the media since he killed 77 people last July, and potentially to receive visits from those sharing his extreme anti-Islamic ideology.

Odd Gron, a lawyer at Lippestad, the firm representing Mr Breivik, said his client had received several letters from supporters requesting a visit.

"There have been requests from fans," he confirmed. "There are letters from people giving him support, there are people who want to tell him that they don't want to give him support, and also letters from journalists requesting arrangements." » | Richard Orange, Malmö | Monday, January 09, 2012

Winterwetter: Halb Österreich ist eingeschneit

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Das Schnee hat Vorarlberg, Tirol, Salzburg und Teile der Schweiz fest im Griff. Manche Dörfer sind von der Außenwelt abgeschnitten. Teilweise besteht die höchste Lawinen-Warnstufe.

Das Winterwetter hat Österreich sowie Teile der Schweiz und Bayerns im Griff. Vor allem der Westen Österreichs ist unter einer immer weiter wachsenden Schneedecke begraben. In den Bundesländern Vorarlberg, Tirol und Salzburg besteht die höchste Lawinen-Warnstufe. Mehrere Lawinenabgänge haben bereits Dörfer von der Außenwelt abgeschnitten. Der Zugverkehr über die Arlbergstrecke ist gesperrt, weil viele Bäume von den orkanartigen Stürmen umgerissen wurden und weil weiter Lawinengefahr herrscht. Zwischen dem Tiroler Ötztal und Bludenz in Vorarlberg musste ein Ersatzverkehr auf der Straße eingerichtet werden. Eine weitere Streckenunterbrechung gibt es zwischen Wörgl und Saalfelden. » | Von REINHARD OLT, WIEN | Sonntag 08. Januar 2012

NZZ ONLINE: Tausende von Skitouristen sitzen fest: Zahlreiche Wintertourismusorte wegen Lawinengefahr von Aussenwelt abgeschnitten » | Sonntag 08. Januar 2012

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Spring arrives early in Britain following mild winter weather: The first signs of spring are emerging weeks early in the countryside and in gardens as a result of the mild winter, experts said today. » | Sunday, January 08, 2012

’If Cameron Blocks EU Treaty It Will Be an Act of War'
SUNDAY EXPRESS: DAVID Cameron has three weeks to decide whether to bless a new eurozone treaty or use Britain’s veto and place the country in a “very grave position”, a senior observer warned last night.

Peter Ludlow, president of the ¬European Strategy Forum think tank, said Germany and France are confident they will secure a deal to save the long term future of the euro by the end of this month.

That would mean tougher financial rules for members of the eurozone and the use of existing EU institutions to enforce them, a move Mr Cameron has indicated is a step too far.

However, veteran EU analyst Mr Ludlow said one “very senior member” of the European Council had told him that if Britain were to try to block the deal it would be “tantamount to a declaration of war”.

He said: “If Cameron is stupid enough to try and block the use of the institutions it would be a very, very dramatic development which could only have grave consequences in terms of ¬Britain’s own interests. It would be his nuclear weapon and that’s why all the messages I get from various people give the impression he will not do that.” » | Ted Jeory | Sunday, January 08, 2012

Mystery Chinese Blogger Scores a Hit with Cultural Revolution Novel

THE OBSERVER: Under The Hawthorn Tree has already sold more than a million copies in China alone

A novel by an anonymous Chinese author living in America, which started life as a blog, has become a worldwide publishing sensation. It has been snapped up by publishers in 15 countries who have been impressed by the fact that it has sold more than a million copies in Chinaand inspired a film by an Oscar-winning Chinese director. Some publishers even bought it before reading a translation. Yet none of the publishers, translators or editors knows the author's identity.

Under the Hawthorn Tree, a tragic love story set during the Cultural Revolution, is written under the pen name of Ai Mi. All that is known about the author is that she leads a reclusive life in Florida, having gone there to study. She is thought to be in her fifties or sixties, if only because her insight into the Cultural Revolution suggests someone who experienced first hand the political and social persecution of Mao Zedong's last decade. She tells her readers that it was inspired by a true story. Her central character – a young woman from a "politically questionable family" who falls in love with the son of a general – is based on a real person with names and places disguised. » | Dalya Alberge | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Bahrain under Pressure to Investigate Shia Activist Beating
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Bahrain is under pressure to launch an investigation into the alleged police beating of a prominent Shia Muslim activist after the United States joined opposition groups in urging a full inquiry.

Nabeel Rajab, the president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, said he was kicked and beaten with clubs by members of the security forces who broke up a pro-democracy demonstration on Friday.

The Bahraini government, struggling to restore order after nearly a year of sectarian tensions on the island, denied the allegations, claiming that the police had come to Mr Rajab's aid by assisting him into an ambulance after he suffered tear gas inhalation. » | Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Sunday, January 08, 2012

USA: Meet the Press
The Republican Candidates Debate

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

US Election: Ann Romney's Relatives in Britain Help Mitt Play the Welsh Card
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: As frontrunner in the Republican White House race, Mitt Romney is seen by many as out of touch. Now his wife Ann's Welsh relatives have come to the rescue.

It is a long way from a small two-bedroom terraced brick home on King's Terrace in the mining village of Nantyffyllon to the colonnaded splendour of the White House. And it is a far cry from a 1920s open-sided charabanc in Porthcawl to Air Force One.

But Ann Romney is drawing on the working-class British roots of her Welsh-born father and her coalminer grandfather to bolster her husband Mitt's bid for the Republican presidential nomination, as was reported last week.

Now the full story of her family's journey from the mines of Glamorgan to the highest echelons of US society can be told for the first time after Mrs Romney's relatives in South Wales talked to The Sunday Telegraph.

For Roddy Evans, watching the election drama unfold from Porthcawl, the prospect of Mrs Romney as America's First Lady is sometimes difficult to imagine.

The former Wales and British Lions rugby union player, 77, is her second cousin and the Romneys and their five sons have been regular visitors over their years.

"I'm very proud of what they've achieved," he said last week at his home, where he received his annual Christmas card from his cousins last month. "It would be wonderful if the first lady had such humble roots in a little mining village in south Wales." » | Philip Sherwell, Manchester, New Hampshire and Ben Leach | Sunday, January 08, 2012

Related »

Kim Jong-un Stars in New North Korean TV Documentary
On what is believed to be Kim Jong-un's birthday, North Korea's state television broadcasts a new documentary on the 'Great Successor' in which he rides tanks, horses and a fairground ride

Read the short article here | Sunday, January 08, 2012
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Kim Jong-un celebrates birthday by driving a tank » | Malcolm Moore, Shanghai | Sunday, January 08, 2012

Nigeria's Descent into Holy War

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A wave of terrorist violence across Nigeria has raised fears of an alliance between the Islamist Boko Haram movement and al-Qaeda's franchise in the Sahara. Colin Freeman reports from the Boko Haram stronghold of Maiduguri.

Like many other Christian outposts in the spiritual homeland of Nigeria's "Taliban", the Victory Baptist Church in the northern desert city of Maiduguri no longer just relies on God for protection.

A modest whitewashed spire in a skyline dominated by mosques, for the last month it has had a military guard to defend it from Boko Haram, the militant local Islamist sect blamed for a string of terror attacks nationwide in recent weeks.

The soldiers in the sandbagged machinegun nest outside the church, though, were unable save three members of the flock last week.

On Wednesday evening, three days after Boko Haram ordered all Christians to leave Muslim-dominated northern Nigeria for good, Ousman Adurkwa, a 65-year-old local trader, answered the door of his home near the church to what he thought was an after-hours customer. Instead it was two masked gunmen.

"They shot my father dead, and then came for the rest of the family," Mr Adurkwa's other son Hyeladi, 25, told The Sunday Telegraph the following day. "One chased my brother Moussa and killed him, and the other shot at me, but my mother took the bullet in the stomach instead." » | Colin Freeman, Maiduguri | Sunday, January 08, 2012

Blair Inc's 'Baffling' Increase in Earnings

THE GUARDIAN: Accountants question transparency of financial records kept by former PM's complex web of companies

Unemployment is rising and companies are going to the wall as the economic turmoil continues to inflict damage across the globe. But one organisation is thriving. Records recently filed at Companies House show Tony Blair Inc is going from strength to strength. They reveal that income channelled through a complex network of firms and partnerships controlled by Blair rose more than 40% last year to more than £12m. Of this, almost £10m was paid for "management services". The money was transferred via a network of firms and financial vehicles.

Accountancy experts are questioning the arcane nature of the network's finances, which makes it difficult to trace where its money is coming from, or where it is being spent.

Accounts for Windrush Ventures, an obscure company that operates under the trading name "the Office of Tony Blair", suggest 2011 has been a successful year for the former prime minister. Windrush saw its turnover rise to just over £12m, up from £8.5m in 2010. Pre-tax profits rose from £729,000 to £1.1m.

The accounts reveal that the company received "remuneration of £9,837,000 in connection with management services" from a limited liability partnership ultimately controlled by Blair. In the previous year Windrush Ventures Limited received £5.2m in remuneration for providing management services. Exactly what sort of management services are provided, and how the company derives its income, are impossible to determine as the accounts do not go into detail. Blair is legitimately taking advantage of laws allowing him to limit what his companies and partnerships must disclose. "It is baffling; these accounts make remarkably little sense," said accountancy expert Richard Murphy of Tax Research UK, a firm that scrutinises company finances. "This limited disclosure is not within the spirit of the law. " » | Jamie Doward | Saturday, January 07, 2012

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Tony Blair and the £8million tax 'mystery': Former Prime Minister Tony Blair channelled millions of pounds through a complicated web of companies and paid just a fraction in tax, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal. ¶ Official accounts show a company set up by Mr Blair to manage his business affairs paid just £315,000 in tax last year on an income of more than £12 million. In that time, he employed 26 staff and paid them total wages of almost £2.3 million. ¶ The accounts provide the strongest evidence yet of the huge sums generated by Mr Blair through his various activities since quitting Downing Street in June 2007. ¶ He runs a business consultancy – Tony Blair Associates – which has deals with the governments of Kuwait and Kazakhstan among others and is a paid adviser to JP Morgan, an American investment bank, and to Zurich International, a global insurance company based in Switzerland. Mr Blair makes a further £100,000 a time from speeches and lectures while also presiding over a number of charities including a faith foundation. » | Robert Mendick, Chief Reporter | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Greedy Bankers to Face Prison as Chancellor Prepares New Law to Target Reckless Bosses Who Take Risks with the Economy

MAIL ONLINE: New criminal offence of 'corporate negligence' could punish financiers

Greedy bankers such as Sir Fred Goodwin could be jailed under tough new laws being drawn up by George Osborne.

Growing public outrage over the severe damage caused by the banking crisis has prompted the Chancellor to prepare a new criminal offence of ‘corporate negligence’ to punish reckless financiers.

The move comes just days before the annual City bonus season, which is expected to bring another round of bumper payouts despite the sluggish UK economy and families suffering a historic squeeze on household finances.

All three main parties are now competing to offer the most hardline policies on tackling ‘fat cats’, after their internal polling revealed the scale of voters’ fury at the level of executive pay.

Under the plan, being worked on behind the scenes at the Treasury, legislation would be introduced to prosecute any boss of a ‘systemically important financial institution’ whose actions had a significantly damaging effect on the wider economy.

The plan would mean that the chief executives of the big five banks: Bob Diamond at Barclays, Antonio Horta-Osorio at Lloyds TSB, Stuart Gulliver at HSBC, Ana Botin at Santander and Sir Fred’s successor at RBS, Stephen Hester – would all be at risk of imprisonment if they ‘crashed’ the banks and damaged the economy through their actions. » | Glen Owen | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy se défend de toute malversation

LIBÉRATION: «Marianne» assure que la femme du chef de l'Etat a profité de 3,5 millions de dollars provenant du Fonds mondial contre le Sida. Qui s'en défend et juge «inexact et trompeur» l'article de l'hebdomadaire.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy a réfuté sa mise en cause par l’hebdomadaire Marianne, en affirmant, vendredi sur son site internet, que sa fondation philanthropique n’avait «jamais reçu d’argent public».

«Aucun argent public n’a jamais été reçu par la Fondation», écrit l’épouse du président Nicolas Sarkozy, dans un message posté à la une de son site, sous le titre «droit de réponse de Carla Bruni-Sarkozy».

Selon elle, «l’insinuation selon laquelle des fonds auraient été levés auprès de partenaires publics est entièrement infondée».

Dans un article intitulé «Enquête sur la philanthrope Carla Bruni-Sarkozy»,l’hebdomadaire daté du 7 au 13 janvier affirme notamment que, «au mépris des procédures normales», le Fonds mondial contre le Sida a versé 3,5 millions de dollars (2,7 millions d’euros) «en faveur des activités philanthropiques de Carla Bruni-Sarkozy et de plusieurs agences appartenant à l’un de ses amis proches».

«Contrairement aux affirmations avancées par le journaliste» auteur de l’article, «la Fondation a bel et bien une comptabilité propre, consolidée in fine à la Fondation de France, comme près de 700 fondations en France dont la probité et la légitimité ne sont pas remises en question». » | AFP | vendredi 06 janvier 2012

MARIANNE: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy et le Fonds mondial de lutte contre le sida réagissent à l'enquête de Marianne » | Marianne | samedi 07 janvier 2012

Argentine: la présidente Cristina Kirchner n'est pas atteinte d'un cancer
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Suite à une étude finale, les médecins ont «écarté la présence de cellules cancérigènes» dans la glande thyroïde de la présidente de l'Argentine.

La présidente argentine Cristina Kirchner n’avait pas de cancer. Une étude finale ayant «écarté la présence de cellules cancérigènes» dans la glande thyroïde après son opération de mercredi, a annoncé samedi le porte-parole de la présidence, Alfredo Scoccimarro.

«L'étude histopathologique finale a constaté la présence de nodules dans les deux lobes de la glande thyroïde de la présidente, mais elle a écarté la présence de cellules cancérigènes, modifiant ainsi le diagnostic initial», a dit M. Scoccimarro à la presse, lisant une déclaration. » | ats/ afp/Newsnet | samedi 07 janvier 2012

Liens en relation avec l’artcle ici et ici

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Argentine President Cristina Kirchner wrongly diagnosed with cancer: Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner never had cancer despite having been diagnosed with the disease, her spokesman said. » | Saturday, January 07, 2012

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Argentiniens Präsidentin nicht an Krebs erkrankt: Die argentinische Staatschefin Kirchner hat offenbar doch keinen Krebs. Die erste Diagnose habe sich als falsch erwiesen, teilte ein Sprecher am Samstag mit: Kirchner befinde sich nach einer Operation an der Schilddrüse "in einem optimalen Zustand". » | usp/AFP/Reuters | Samstag 07. Januar 2012

Rick Santorum’s Both a Religious Zealot and a Sellout

Cenk Uygur on Obama’s Record, Romney’s Tax Plan & Then Some

Saif Gaddafi Sets Libya's New Rulers a Test of Commitment to Human Rights

THE GUARDIAN: Tyrant's son has become an unlikely rallying point for human rights activists as he languishes in jail without a lawyer

Home for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is currently a converted living room with a dirty beige carpet in a compound close to Zintan, a modest mountain town 100 miles south-east of Libya's capital, Tripoli. Uniformed guards are his only company and he is denied visitors, television, radio and the internet.

He shakes hands with his few visitors with his left hand, because the thumb and forefinger of his right have been severed. He insists this was the result of being targeted in a Nato air strike, but some Libyans think it was the work of a rebel sympathiser, as punishment for Saif's habit of wagging his finger at rebels on his television broadcasts. Fred Abrahams of Human Rights Watch, granted a rare interview with Saif, reported that he looked well and gets fed three times a day. What Saif does not get is access to a lawyer, or any sight of the charges that Libya's new rulers say he faces.

Which is why, less than three months after his father's death, Saif is fast becoming an unlikely rallying point for international human rights advocates. It is a twist of fate no one would have anticipated, but Libya's rulers face increasing criticism over their failure to fulfil promises to set up a proper justice system. Saif, always the most influential son of the late Muammar Gaddafi, has been languishing in his makeshift prison cell since being arrested by militias in November.

The failure of the authorities to tell him what he is charged with or give him access to a lawyer has prompted a torrent of criticism from rights groups. » | Chris Stephen | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Margaret Thatcher, pionnière ou démon?

LA PRESSE: (Londres) Un nom est sur toutes les lèvres ces jours-ci en Angleterre: Margaret Thatcher. Satire pour les uns, propagande conservatrice pour les autres, le film The Iron Lady, mettant en vedette Meryl Streep, confirme la lente réhabilitation d'un personnage politique longtemps controversé. Mais le débat sur son héritage fait toujours rage.

Le film The Iron Lady met en scène la Margaret Thatcher d'aujourd'hui: frêle, amnésique et hantée par les souvenirs de sa carrière politique. Plus «Dame de rouille» que de fer, ont ironisé des journalistes qui l'ont connue. Le portrait cru et sans ambages de la dame de 86 ans, qui s'enfonce dans la démence sénile depuis cinq ans, frise le sacrilège aux yeux de ses proches et même du premier ministre David Cameron.

«Elle n'a jamais été la femme à moitié hystérique et hyperémotive interprétée par Meryl Streep», s'est emporté Norman Tebbit, son ancien ministre. Une critique partagée par d'autres amis de Margaret Thatcher, dont le règne à Downing Street, de 1979 à 1990, a été marqué par les grèves des mineurs, la guerre froide et les attentats terroristes de l'IRA.

La famille de l'ancienne première ministre a levé le nez sur l'invitation à la première londonienne mercredi dernier. La sortie du film de son vivant froisse les susceptibilités. » | Mali Ilse Paquin, collaboration special, La Presse | samedi 07 janvier 2012

Liens en relation avec l’article ici et ici

Rick Santorum: A Republican Menace or a Messiah?
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: When Rick Santorum began his improbable presidential run last June, half of Republican voters had never heard of him. Even after a dozen debates, he was just as unknown.

One group has long been well acquainted with him, however. And it is not the social conservatives behind his stunning tie for first place in this week’s Iowa caucuses.

Gay rights activists have considered Mr. Santorum a menace since his 2003 outburst against a Supreme Court decision striking down anti-sodomy laws. They have ensured that, even after he lost his Senate seat in 2006, Mr. Santorum’s name has lived on in infamy.

Thus was born the noun “santorum” – a word whose definition is so unsavoury the ex-senator has been trying to get Google to remove it from its search engine.

But as Mr. Santorum comes under scrutiny as potentially the only candidate able to stop Mitt Romney, he is discovering there is no erasing one’s past in politics or cyberspace.

The sudden attention could take him down or rehabilitate the meaning of his name.

The Republican base still craves a candidate who can beat the “Massachusetts moderate” – as the fast fading Newt Gingrich calls Mr. Romney. Mr. Santorum may be poised to ride a conservative wave, if not to the nomination, perhaps to a place on the GOP ticket. » | Konrad Yakabuski | MANCHESTER, N. H. | Friday, January 06, 2012

Rick Santorum Has Gay Friends

The Young Turks »

Piers Morgan Confronts Rick Santorum On His Bigotry

Egypt’s Coptic Christians Celebrate First Post-Mubarak Christmas

THE GLOBE AND MAIL: Egypt’s Christians celebrated Saturday their first Christmas after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, amid tight security and a display of national unity to allay fears of the growing power of Islamists.

The Coptic Orthodox celebration follows an escalation in violence against the minority, an estimated 10 per cent of Egypt’s 85 million people, over the past year.

Many Christians blamed a series of street clashes, assaults on churches, and other attacks on radical Islamists who have become increasingly bold after Mr. Mubarak’s downfall.

Celebrations of Orthodox Christmas began with a late night Friday Mass at Cairo’s main cathedral, which was attended by prominent figures from across Egypt’s political spectrum. They included leaders of Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group whose associated political party has won nearly half the seats in parliament. » | Sarah El Deeb | The Associated Press | CAIRO | Saturday, January 07, 2012

THE GUARDIAN: Egypt's Coptic pope celebrates Christmas with call for unity: Figures from across political spectrum attend mass at Cairo's main Coptic cathedral amid fears of rising sectarian tension ¶ As Coptic Christians celebrated their first Christmas after the Egyptian revolution, their pope called for national unity amid fears that their community will suffer under Islamic majority rule. ¶ Copts, who use of a 13-month calendar dating back to pharaonic times, celebrated Christmas Day on Saturday. ¶ At the start of the festive celebrations in Egypt, prominent figures from across the political spectrum, including leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and members of the ruling military council, attended Friday night mass at Cairo's main Coptic cathedral. ¶ The Coptic pope, Shenouda III, commended their presence and appealed for national unity for "the sake of Egypt". ¶ He said: "For the first time in the history of the cathedral, it is packed with all types of Islamist leaders in Egypt. They all agree ... on the stability of this country, and in loving it and working for it, and to work with the Copts as one hand for the sake of Egypt." » | David Shariatmadari and Damien Pearse | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Royal Navy Sends Its Mightiest Ship to Take On the Iranian Show of Force in the Gulf
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Royal Navy's most formidable warship is being sent to the Gulf for its first mission as tensions rise in the strategically vital region, it can be disclosed.

Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, which served as the conduit for 17 millions barrels of oil every day last year.

Naval commanders believe the deployment of HMS Daring, a Type 45 destroyer, will send a significant message to the Iranians because of the firepower and world-beating technology carried by the warship.

Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, has publicly warned Iran that any blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would be "illegal and unsuccessful".

The Daily Telegraph understands that HMS Daring has been fitted with new technology that will give it the ability to shoot down any missile in Iran's armoury. The £1 billion destroyer, which will leave Portsmouth next Wednesday, also carries the world's most sophisticated naval radar, capable of tracking multiple incoming threats from missiles to fighter jets. » | Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent | Friday, January 06, 2012

Foreign Office Warns of Terrorism Risk in Kenya
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Foreign Office has warned of an increased risk of terrorism in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

The warning came as Kenya admitted the threat from Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab insurgents from neighbouring Somalia was not "totally neutralised."

Foreign Office officials said they believed there was a heightened threat of "terrorist attacks" in the Kenyan capital and that attacks "may be in the final stages of planning."

"Attacks could be indiscriminate and target Kenyan institutions as well as places where expatriates and foreign travellers gather, such as hotels, shopping centres and beaches. We strongly advise British Nationals to exercise extra vigilance and caution in public places and at public events," the FCO said in a statement. » | Friday, January 07, 2012

Cameron Set for New Row with Europe over Closer Harmonisation

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron is facing a fresh row with France and Germany over plans to more closely integrate the European Union.

A draft treaty circulating in Brussels this weekend states that the 26 EU members states planning to sign a new fiscal treaty should be allowed to set their own policies for Europe’s single market.

The proposed treaty also stipulates that the key bodies of the union should be allowed to police tough new deficit rules – directly contradicting the British Prime Minister’s wishes.

Mr Cameron refused to sign the new treaty at a summit in Brussels in December, where he said it would be wrong for the group of 26 to use the European Council, European Court of Justice and other EU institutions to drive through and oversee closer harmonisation of tax and spending policies by governments.

It is understood changes were made to the draft treaty over the Christmas period in accordance with French wishes for “deeper integration in the internal market”. » | Robert Watts, Deputy Political Editor | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Countess of Wessex Criticised for Accepting Jewels from Bahrain

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Countess of Wessex has been criticised for accepting two sets of jewels from the royal family of Bahrain.

The countess, 46, was given the gifts during a recent official visit to the country.

She was given one set by Bahrain’s king and a second set by the country’s prime minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa.

Her husband, the earl, received a pen and a watch.

Critics said the countess should sell the gems and give the proceeds to political protesters in Bahrain.

Denis MacShane, a former Foreign Office minister, said: “Given the appalling suffering and repression of the Bahraini people, it would be a fitting gesture for the Countess of Wessex to auction these trinkets and distribute the proceeds to the victims of the regime.” » | Andy Bloxham | Friday, January 06, 2012

THE GUARDIAN: Countess of Wessex 'should return bloodstained' gems to Bahrain: Labour MP Denis MacShane and activist Peter Tatchell call on Sophie to return jewels after crackdown on democracy protests ¶ Gems accepted by the Countess of Wessex from Bahrain's royal family should be sold to benefit victims of the regime's crackdown on pro-democracy campaigners, according to a former foreign office minister. ¶ The countess received two suites of jewels as presents during a day-long visit to the Arab state in December, while her husband Prince Edward received a pen, a watch and a silk rug. » | Damien Pearse | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Stevie Wonder - I Just Called To Say I Love You

US Election 2012: Ann Romney's Welsh Connection
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Ann Romney's Welsh cakes on the US election campaign trail in Iowa offered a glimpse into her family's Celtic working class roots.

Amid the bleak concrete strip malls of the first stop on this year's US presidential election campaign trail, they were a delicious reminder of the green grass of home.

Welsh cakes, baked by Mitt Romney's wife Ann, were the talk of freezing Iowa last week among the campaign staff, supporters and journalists lucky enough to catch her eye.

As well as taming the hungry travelling circus around the Republican front-runner's campaign, they also offered a glimpse of the working-class British ancestry of the would-be First Lady of America.

She may now be one half of a glamorous multi-millionaire power couple, but Mrs Romney’s roots stretch back to the tiny mining village of Caerau, near Bridgend.

“I am a coal miner’s granddaughter,” Mrs Romney, 62, said at a campaign stop.

“I feel I am just one foot away from where that mine was and how close we all are, all of us, to the sacrifices of our parents and grandparents who tried to make a better life for us.”

That grandfather, David Davies, emigrated to the US in the 1920s after being crushed in a mining accident. He did whatever work he could find to pay for his family to join him.

His wife, daughter and three sons – one of them 15-year-old Edward Roderick “Rod” Davies, future father of Mrs Romney – arrived in 1929, just as Wall Street crashed and the Great Depression struck. » | Raf Sanchez, Washington and Jon Swaine | Friday, January 06, 2012

Jamaica Vows to Drop Queen as Head of State

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Portia Simpson Miller, the new prime minister of Jamaica, has vowed to abandon the Queen as head of state and turn the country into a republic.

Mrs Simpson Miller made the pledge just weeks after it was announced that Prince Harry would visit the Caribbean nation later this year to mark the Queen's diamond jubilee.

The constitutional changes are not expected to disrupt his trip but may lead to a potentially embarrassing diplomatic situation where a representative of the monarchy visits Jamaica at the same time the government is working to sever its links to the crown.

Speaking at her inauguration on Thursday, Mrs Simpson Miller offered a fulsome tribute in English to the monarch, saying: "I love the Queen. She is a beautiful lady, and apart from being a beautiful lady, a wise lady and a wonderful lady."

However, she pointedly switched to Jamaican patois as she told the crowd of 10,000: "But I think the time has come." » | Raf Sanchez, Washington | Friday, January 06, 2012

Michelle Obama 'Raged Against Rahm Emmanuel and White House Advisors'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Michelle Obama clashed frequently with Rahm Emmanuel, her husband's White House chief of staff, as the pair vied for influence over the President, according to a new book.

The First Lady reportedly believed that Mr Emmanuel's willingness to cut backroom deals during the battle over health care reform was tainting Barack Obama's image as a new kind of American leader.

The Obamas paints a picture of a presidential inner circle divided between Mrs Obama's idealistic belief in what the administration could achieve and the grittier pragmatism of Mr Emmanuel.

The book, written by New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor, claims that the chief of staff refused to allow the president's wife into high-level morning meetings, leading a brooding Mrs Obama to berate other senior advisers by email.

She allegedly sent furious notes to Alyssa Mastromonaco, the president's director of scheduling, and to Valerie Jarrett, a Chicago friend who now serves as one President Obama's top advisors.

Ms Jarrett was said to remove the First Lady's name before circulating the emails widely within the West Wing. » | Raf Sanchez, Washington | Saturday, January 07, 2012

The Weekly Standard's Anti-gay Email Is Just One of a Disturbing Trend

THE GUARDIAN – NEWS BLOG: Frustrated American conservatives are exploiting gay paranoia to make up for a drought of ideas on how to fix the economy

Conservative magazine and website The Weekly Standard is under fire for sending a vituperative and deeply paranoid email to its thousands of subscribers, claiming that the "homosexual lobby" wants to indoctrinate American school students with a "perverted vision for a homosexual America".

The email, from the rightwing activist Eugene Delgaudio, rails against proposed legislation designed to protect young gay students from discrimination, saying it would "require schools to teach appalling homosexual acts".

The Standard has moved to distance itself from the email, sent as a sponsored mail-out by its marketing department, but the editor has declined opportunities to disavow the content.

Yet even in the charged atmosphere of cultural discourse in the United States, the language is extraordinary. Delguadio, renames the Student Non-Discrimination Act as the "Homosexual Classrooms Act" and says it would

• Require schools to teach appalling homosexual acts so "homosexual students" don't feel "singled out" during already explicit sex-ed classes;

• Spin impressionable students in a whirlwind of sexual confusion and misinformation, even peer pressure to "experiment" with the homosexual "lifestyle";

• Exempt homosexual students from punishment for propositioning, harassing, or even sexually assaulting their classmates, as part of their specially-protected right to "freedom of self-expression";

• Force private and even religious schools to teach a pro-homosexual curriculum and purge any reference to religion if a student claims it creates a "hostile learning environment" for homosexual students.

It goes on to say that the bill is "just the start" of a secret plan by gay campaigners. "In fact, it will set them up to ram through their entire perverted vision for a homosexual America." » | Posted by Matt Wells | Friday, January 06, 2012

Santorum Enjoys New Hampshire Poll Bump But Trails Far Behind Romney

THE GUARDIAN: WMUR poll shows Rick Santorum benefiting from Iowa success, but Mitt Romney remains favourite to win primary on 44%

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is enjoying a bump in the polls in New Hampshire as a result of his success in the Iowa caucuses.

A poll for WMUR, the New Hampshire affiliate of ABC, puts Santorum on 8%, up from only 1% when the last poll was taken in November. More signficantly, Santorum – as he did in Iowa – is enjoying a surge, and the poll figures taken in the two days after Iowa show even higher support for him, at 11%.

But Santorum is still well behind the frontrunner Mitt Romney, who is almost certain to add New Hampshire to his win in Iowa. He would then be heading to South Carolina for its 21 January primary with two victories behind him. » | Ewen MacAskill in Manchester, New Hampshire | Friday, January 06, 2012