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

'Fascist scum': Ukip leader Nigel Farage hits back at hostile crowd in Edinburgh pub The Independent, 17 May 2013
Andy McSmith
The leader of the UK Independence Party, Nigel Farage has described protesters who confronted him in an Edinburgh pub as 'fascist scum'.

Mr Farage had to be given a police escort through an angry crowd as he tried to take his party's anti-EU message to Scotland.

The Ukip leader was holding a press conference in Edinburgh's Cannons Gait pub when protesters started to arrive and heckle him, before police cleared them out.

Read on...
Gay marriage laws have created 'real sense of anger', Philip Hammond says The Telegraph, 17 May 2013
Rowena Mason
Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, said his opposition to same-sex weddings puts him in a minority in Parliament, but that his views are shared by "vast numbers" of the public.

His comments threaten to stir up Tory tensions over gay marriage again ahead of another parliamentary debate on the proposals next week.

On Thursday, David Cameron appeared ready to appease some of the 134 Conservative MPs who voted against his proposals last time by promising to look at extending civil partnerships to all couples in future.

Read on...
King Richard III facial model goes on display in Leicester The Guardian, 17 May 2013
Press Association
A facial reconstruction of King Richard III is going on display in Leicester's Guildhall, on the first stop of a nationwide tour.

The model was commissioned by the Richard III Society and made by Professor Caroline Wilkinson and the forensic art team at the University of Dundee after archaeologists discovered the body of King Richard III under a car park in February.

It was made using a 3D printing technique called stereolithography, and details such as the style and colour of his hair were taken from near-contemporary portraits.

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USA latest

House lawmakers reach tentative deal to revamp immigration The Chicago Tribune, 17 May 2013
Richard Cowan and Rachelle Younglai
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prospects for passage of a major immigration bill improved on Thursday when a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives declared they had reached a tentative deal, resolving disputes that had threatened to torpedo negotiations.

The breakthrough came at the end of a two-hour private meeting of seven Republican and Democratic negotiators. The eighth negotiator in this so-called House Gang of Eight was unavailable after undergoing surgery on Wednesday.

The final sticking point, according to congressional sources, was over whether illegal immigrants now in the United States who gain legal status under the bill could participate in the new healthcare law known as "Obamacare," which Republicans want to repeal.

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Obama responds to criticism with 'fix it' strategy The Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2013
Kathleen Hennessey and Christi Parsons
WASHINGTON — At a news conference in a rainy Rose Garden on Thursday, President Obama and the Turkish prime minister had weighty matters to discuss — the bloody civil war in Syria, a disastrous Syrian refugee crisis and Turkey's strained relationship with Israel. But before they got too far into that, Obama had something else to say.

"With the prime minister's permission, I want to make one other point," Obama said, launching into an appeal for Congress to support more money for embassy security — a not-so-subtle reply to Republicans who've pounced on the president's handling of last year's attack on the diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya.

The remark signaled how Obama and his aides have decided to respond to the pounding they have taken in recent days as three controversies have threatened to interfere with his second-term agenda. The White House has tried to showcase Obama as a pragmatic leader taking decisive action, contrasting him with what the president's aides see as a Washington establishment obsessed with scandal.

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Sectarianism in Iraq stoked by Syrian war The Washington Post, 17 May 2013
Abigail Hauslohner
BAGHDAD — A recent tide of sectarian tensions that erupted into the worst violence seen in Iraq in five years is testing the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose ability to contain the crisis could hinge on a conflict raging beyond his control in Syria.

The prospect of a regional power shift driven by the bloody civil war next door, where a mostly Sunni rebel movement is struggling to topple the Shiite-dominated regime, has emboldened Iraq’s Sunni minority to challenge its own Shiite government and amplified fears within Maliki’s administration that Iraq may soon be swept up in a spillover war.

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.