Battle-scarred Tamils emerge as kingmakers
UK Telegraph - 5 hours ago
The Tamil Tigers lost their fight for an independent homeland in May, but observers say that Tamil voters could decide who becomes the next Sri Lankan president. The two main candidates - the incumbent, Mahinda Rajapakse, and a former army chief, Sarath Fonseka - both claim credit for crushing the Tigers and ending the island's bloody ethnic conflict.
Sri Lankan journalist jailed for 20 years after criticizing the govt gets bail pending appeal Chicago Tribune
Debt Plan in Argentina Sets Bank Against the President
New York Times - 14 hours ago
RIO DE JANEIRO — A disputed plan by President Cristina Fern?ndez de Kirchner of to use billions of dollars in foreign currency reserves to repay debt has inflamed political tensions in that country, Latin America’s third-largest economy. Mrs. Kirchner’s cash-poor government is seeking to use $6.5 billion of Argentina’s nearly $48 billion in central bank reserves to help cover $13 billion in international debt that is due this year.
Argentine Leader in Decisive Battle Wall Street Journal
Religious violence in Malaysia escalates as more churches attacked
UK Telegraph - 20 hours ago
Religious violence in Malaysia escalated on Sunday after three more churches were attacked in an unprecedented wave of assaults on Christian houses of worship. No one was hurt in the latest upsurge of violence which saw two churches firebombed and a third dubbed with black paint in a row sparked by a court decision allowing non-Muslims to use the word "Allah" in place of God in their literature and worship.
Malaysia in an Uproar Over Use of the Word ‘Allah’ New York Times
Oxford poetry job up for grabs again following 'smear campaign' controversy
UK Telegraph - 2 days ago
Plans have finally been drawn up for election of a new Professor of Poetry at Oxford University following last year's alleged smear campaign involving Ruth Padel and Derek Walcott. The election, which will take place later this year, will identify a successor to Padel, who stood down in May before taking up the appointment amid claims she was involved in the campaign against Walcott , a Nobel laureate who had been the leading candidate.
Oxford poetry job up for grabs again following 'smear campaign' controversy UK Telegraph
JAL lenders to cave in to bankruptcy plan-sources
Reuters - 2 days ago
TOKYO (Reuters) - The main lenders to Japan Airlines plan to accept a restructuring package that would require the carrier to file for bankruptcy, sources said, increasing the likelihood of a state bailout this month. A state-backed turnaround fund plans to establish a credit line of more than 600 billion yen ($6.5 billion) along with a state-owned bank to ensure JAL can keep flying once a bankruptcy is announced, a source with the knowledge of the matter said.
Japan government to explain to 35 nations on JAL: report Reuters
Australia furious over Indian KKK cartoon condemning police
UK Telegraph - 3 days ago
The Australian government has condemned an Indian newspaper cartoon likening its police to the Ku Klux Klan over their investigations into the murder of a young Indian man. New Delhi's Mail Today ran the cartoon showing a figure with an Australian police badge wearing a pointed white hood, following the murder of 21-year-old Indian national Nitin Garg in Melbourne last weekend.
Indian KKK news cartoon angers Australia Reuters
Gordon Brown coup plot hits Labour's poll standing
UK Telegraph - 3 days ago
The failed coup against Gordon Brown by two former Cabinet ministers has damaged Labour’s general election hopes, an opinion poll has indicated. Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt were behind the botched coup plot against Gordon Brown.
Brown putsch peters out, but UK's Labor damaged Reuters