La clé des langues - Anglais - News headlines

News headlines - press review

Every monday, tuesday, thursday and friday, this section gives you an overview of the topics that hit the headlines in national newspapers in Britain (the Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and The Independent) and in the United States (the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune and USA Today). It also provides you with links to other newspaper websites of the English speaking world as well as a selection of 'lighter' readings.

UK latest

All schools should have same freedoms as academies, say Labour The Guardian, 17 June 2013
Richard Adams
Labour will on Monday attempt to wrest the initiative on education away from the Conservatives with an offer for all schools to have the freedoms enjoyed by academies alongside a new effort to tackle inequality in admissions to the best state schools.

The shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg is to challenge "Michael Gove's [education secretary] incoherent approach that grants some schools access to freedoms that help raise standards while denying them to others."

In a speech on Monday, Twigg will propose that a Labour government embraces several policies applied to academies, and extends them throughout the state sector.

Read on...
Boris Johnson: Don't arm the Syria maniacs The Telegraph, 17 June 2013
Peter Dominiczak, and Christopher Hope
Arming the Syrian rebels would be disastrous because Britain would be “pressing weapons into the hands of maniacs”, says Boris Johnson.

The Mayor of London warns David Cameron that the UK must not use Syria as an “arena for muscle-flexing” and says that any weapons sent to the country’s opposition could end up in the hands of al-Qaeda.

His comments come after several leading figures opposed any move by Mr Cameron to join President Barack Obama in providing greater assistance to the forces fighting Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian leader.

Read on...
GCHQ 'spied on foreign politicians at 2009 G20 London summits' The Independent, 17 June 2013
Sanchez Manning
An intensive spying operation was mounted by Britain’s secret intelligence agencies on foreign politicians attending two G20 summit meetings in London in 2009, it has been claimed.

Leaked documents show that delegates had their computers monitored and phones intercepted by GCHQ on the orders of the British Government, according to reports by The Guardian newspaper.

The intelligence agencies were even said to have set up internet cafes specifically to enable them to read the emails of those taking part in the summit.

Read on...

USA latest

On Europe trip, Obama will face a continent frustrated by his actions and inaction The Washington Post, 17 June 2013
Scott Wilson
SLIGO, Ireland — President Obama this week will visit a European continent deeply worried about its economy, the worsening conflict in Syria and the uncertain direction of American leadership abroad in the fifth year of his administration.

As he arrives Monday in Northern Ireland for his first trip to Europe in two years, Obama will be confronting the diplomatic fallout from his actions and inaction on some of the most urgent concerns of his European counterparts.

Read on...
Detainees' defense lawyers want ICRC's secret Guantanamo files The Chicago Tribune, 17 June 2013
Jane Sutton
GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - Lawyers for five prisoners accused of plotting the September 11 attacks in 2001 have asked to see confidential reports made by representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross who visited the defendants at the Guantanamo detention camp.

The issue is one of dozens on the docket for a week-long pretrial hearing set to start on Monday in the death penalty case against the alleged mastermind of the hijacked plane attacks on the United States, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and four co-defendants accused of funding and training the hijackers.

The judge will also be asked to decide whether the defendants can be excluded from the courtroom during pretrial discussions of classified material and whether military jailers are meddling in attorney-client communications, which are supposed to be confidential.

Read on...
Supreme Court considers landmark equality cases The Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2013
David G. Savage
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has devoted decades to giving meaning to the Constitution's promise of equality for all before the law.

Now, as the court heads into the final two weeks of this year's term, the justices may be about to close one chapter of that long story even as they open a new one.

The court is set to decide whether to pull back on 1960s-era remedies for racial discrimination that critics say have outlived their need. One case tests a race-based affirmative action policy at the University of Texas that gives an advantage to black and Latino students. Another case could end part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that puts the South under special scrutiny for its laws on voting and elections.

Read on...

News from other parts of the world

Ireland

The Irish Times: A socially liberal and rather left wing newspaper. Founded in 1859, it is one of the major Irish daily information media and offers an excellent online edition.
The Irish Independent: Founded in 1905, it is Ireland's best-selling daily newspaper. Its website offers regular updates on both Irish and world news.

South Africa

The Mail and Guardian: A major investigative newspaper founded in 1985. Although it is a weekly paper, its online version offers daily updates on South African and world news.

Australia

The Daily Telegraph: Founded in 1879 and named after the British upmarket daily newspaper, it is rather conservative and offers a variety of sections ranging from politics to 'wacky' news.
The Australian: Less populist than the telegraph, this newspaper provides its readers with news from all over South-East Asia. It was founded in 1964 and is based in Sydney.

New Zealand

The New Zealand Herald: Founded in 1863, it is the country's best-selling paper and offers an excellent website with regular news updates.

Canada

The Toronto Star: Canada's largest daily newspaper, with a left of centre vantage point. It was founded in 1892.
The Globe and Mail: A result of the 1936 merger between The Globe and The Mail and Empire, it is a widely read conservative newspaper.

India

The Indian Express: Started in 1931, it is one of India's most prominent daily newspapers. It is renowned for its investigative reports and offers a fine website.

On the lighter side

The Daily Mirror: Launched in 1903, the Mirror was intended as a newspaper for women, run by women. It now belongs to the buoyant and colorful British gutter press.
The Sun: Founded in 1964 and sold in the UK and Ireland, it is the pendent of the Mirror on the waiting room table of any good British GP.
People: An American weekly magazine of celebrity and human-interest stories founded in 1974.