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

Gay couple beaten in park urge MPs to moderate language on gay marriage The Independent, 21 May 2013
Charlotte Philby
A gay couple who were beaten by a gang of youths in a suspected homphobic robbery last weekend – leaving one with head injuries – have urged politicians to moderate their language when debating same-sex marriage.

Christopher Bryant, editor of gay and lesbian online magazine Polari, was on his way home from his birthday celebrations with partner Damon Truluck when they were confronted by a group of six men on Saturday night.

The two men were beaten and told to “stay down… faggot” as they walked through Betts Park in Bromley, south London, Mr Bryant told The Independent yesterday. “We were about a third of the way across the park, we saw a bunch of guys under a street lamp near one of the exits about 100 feet away from us. They started to follow us.

Read on...
David Cameron to Tories: 'I'm not sneering at you' The Telegraph, 21 May 2013
James Kirkup, Robert Winnett and Tim Ross
The Prime Minister tonight sent a “personal message” to thousands of party volunteers, insisting that despite their differences over Europe and gay marriage, the leadership and the party had “a deep and lasting friendship”.

Mr Cameron’s email was his first comment since The Daily Telegraph and other newspapers disclosed on Saturday that a member of his inner circle had described Conservative association members as “mad, swivel-eyed loons”.

The Prime Minister did not refer explicitly to the remark, but insisted that he admired and respected his party’s activists.

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Labour saves David Cameron's gay marriage bill The Guardian, 21 May 2013
Nicholas Watt
The government's gay marriage bill was saved after David Cameron was forced to rely on Ed Miliband to defeat an attempt by his own MPs to derail the measure by trying to extend civil partnerships to heterosexual couples.

An 11th-hour plea to the Labour leadership by the Tory chief whip Sir George Young, who warned that the government was in danger of losing the vote, prompted a change of heart by Miliband, who had been planning to abstain on the amendment.

The Labour move meant that the amendment, tabled by the anti-gay marriage Tory and former children's minister Tim Loughton, was defeated by 375 to 70 votes, a majority of 305.

Read on...

USA latest

Frantic search and rescue underway for Oklahoma tornado victims The Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2013
Alana Semuels and Hailey Branson-Potts
As night fell in Oklahoma, a massive search and rescue operation was underway to locate survivors from the mile-wide tornado that ripped through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on Monday afternoon, killing at least 51 people and injuring many others.

“We have got massive devastation in the community of Moore. Homes, schools and a hospital have been hit,” said Terri Watkins, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. “Responders are out there responding to people trapped under debris. They’re still out actively doing this operation.”

The Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s office Monday night adjusted the death toll to 51, with “multiple children” among the fatalities.

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Huge tornado levels Oklahoma City suburb The Washington Post, 21 May 2013
Joel Achenbach
A massive tornado up to a mile wide chewed through Moore, Okla., a suburb of Oklahoma City, on Monday afternoon, grinding up entire neighborhoods and obliterating an elementary school where students who had huddled in a hallway with their teachers were buried in rubble.

The state medical examiner’s office said late Monday that 51 people had been confirmed killed in the tornado. That number will surely rise. “We’re sitting at 51, and the phone calls just keep coming,” said Amy Elliot, a spokeswoman for the office. Early Tuesday, she told the Associated Press that officials could see as many as 40 more deaths.

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Many children among 91 feared dead in tornado-hit Oklahoma The Chicago Tribune, 21 May 2013
Alice Mannette and Ian Simpson
MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - At least 91 people, including 20 children, were feared killed when a 2 mile wide tornado tore through an Oklahoma City suburb, trapping victims beneath the rubble as one elementary school took a direct hit and another was destroyed.

President Barack Obama declared a major disaster area in Oklahoma, ordering federal aid to supplement state and local efforts in Moore after the deadliest U.S. tornado since one killed 161 people in Joplin, Missouri, two years ago.

Emergency crews were desperately searching the wreckage of Plaza Towers Elementary School that took a direct hit from the tornado on Monday afternoon, Oklahoma Lieutenant Governor Todd Lamb told CNN.

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.