Intelligence chief appointed Romania’s new PM
February 7, 2012
Romanian president Traian Basescu named intelligence chief Mihai Razvan Ung… Romanian president Traian Basescu on Monday named intelligence chief Mihai Razvan Ungureanu as the new prime…
All eyes on Russian minister’s Syria trip
February 7, 2012
As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov heads to Syria for talks with President Bashar al-Assad, BBC Moscow correspondent Daniel Sandford assesses what he might hope to achieve from his visit. Tuesday’s visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the director…
We will see greater democracy in Russia, Putin tells protesters
February 7, 2012
In an article for the respected daily newspaper Kommersant, the Prime Minister wrote that Russia hadbecome wealthier and more orderly over the past decade. He admitted, however, that this process had in part led to the increased civil activism of recent…
Germany’s Angela Merkel vows support for Sarkozy
February 7, 2012
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged her support for President Nicolas Sarkozy’s re-election bid, 80 days before French voters go to the polls. In a joint TV interview, Mrs Merkel said it was “natural” to back a fellow conservative. Mr Sarkozy said he was pleased to receive her endorsement. He is yet to confirm he will stand in April, and is behind the Socialist Francois Hollande in…
Obama campaign urges fundraisers to back super PAC
February 7, 2012
KEN THOMAS Associated Press= WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is urging his top fundraisers to support a Democratic super political action committee which can spend unlimited amounts of cash to influence elections. Obama campaign manager Jim Messina says in an email to supporters Monday that the president’s campaign “can’t allow for two sets of rules” in which the Republican presidential nominee benefits from “unlimited spending and Democrats unilaterally disarm.” Obama has opposed the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision that stripped away some limits on campaign contributions. The new super PACs can’t coordinate directly with campaigns, but many that are active in this…
Suu Kyi hits the campaign trail in Myanmar
February 7, 2012
AYE AYE WIN Associated Press= PATHEIN, Myanmar (AP) — Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi hit the campaign trail Tuesday as an official candidate for upcoming elections, traveling to the Irrawaddy delta for the first time in two decades. Cheering crowds greeted Suu Kyi’s convoy at every major town and city along her four-hour drive south from Yangon to an area that was devastated by Cyclone Nargis in 2008. Supporters waved bouquets of roses and yelled, “We Love Mother Suu!” as the 66-year-old pro-democracy advocate drove past, sometimes rising from her car’s sun roof to greet supporters with a smile. Suu Kyi’s return to politics is another test of the reforms of the new nominally civilian…
Phone hacking: Met Police failed to warn victims, says review
February 7, 2012
The Metropolitan Police failed to warn people that they had been the victims of possible phone hacking by the News of the World, a judicial review has said. Ex-deputy prime minister Lord Prescott, Labour MP Chris Bryant and ex-Scotland Yard deputy assistant commissioner Brian Paddick had all pushed for the review, along with Ben Jackson, the former assistant to actor Jude Law, and an applicant known only as ‘HJK’. The individuals, some of whom had already received damages from the News of the World’s publisher News International, accused the police of breaching their human rights by not notifying them of the potential crime. Following the ruling, the Met Commissioner said that the police…
British outrage as radical cleric gets bail
February 7, 2012
BRITAIN’S Home Office has clashed openly with judges after a court decision to free on bail the radical Islamist cleric Abu Qatada, who is accused of posing a grave threat to British national security. The decision by judge Sir John Edward Mitting will see Abu Qatada (pictured), once described by Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon as Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe, walk out of Long Lartin maximum security prison in Worcestershire within days after more than 6½ years in detention without trial. The Special Immigration Appeals…
Bombardment of Syria’s Homs resumes – activists
February 7, 2012
AMMAN (Reuters) – Heavy bombardment of the Syrian city of Homs resumed on Tuesday after at least 95 civilians were killed on Monday in an offensive to put down a popular revolt against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule, activists and residents said. “The bombardment is again concentrating on Bab Amro. A doctor tried to get in there…
Phoenix rejects utility regulator’s gas price plans
February 6, 2012
Phoenix Natural Gas has rejected proposed controls by the utility regulator which would have slashed the price of gas for big business in Northern Ireland. It means regulator Shane Lynch is likely to refer the matter to the Competition Commission. The proposals would slash how much money Phoenix is allowed to invest and spend on running its network. The savings…
