Turmoil in Iran continues
‘Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi are planning a new demonstration in Tehran in protest at what they see as a fraudulent presidential poll in Iran.’ – BBC
‘The huge demonstrations, angry chants and growing global outrage at the fraudulent election in Iran have shaken the clerical establishment. So used are the mullahs to temporal power, so reliant was President Ahmadinejad on the Revolutionary Guard and zealots of the religious police to enforce his rule that few foresaw the greatest challenge to state power since the 1979 revolution. At least seven demonstrators have already been shot dead. If the illegal rallies continue, if more “martyrs”, especially women and the young, are created and if civil disobedience sweeps the country into a cycle of violence and vendetta, the authority and the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic will unravel.’ – Leader, The Times
‘Iran is experiencing its most tumultuous days since the 1979 revolution. Faced with vast street demonstrations by those incensed by the declared result of last week’s presidential elections, the ruling regime in Tehran is being pulled in opposing directions. The Guardian Council yesterday announced that it is going to recount disputed votes; an extraordinary attempt to address the concerns of protesters. But at the same time strict controls have been placed on the movement of foreign journalists and dozens of prominent opposition figures have been detained.’ – Leader, The Independent
‘US President Barack Obama is resisting pressure to side with Iran’s opposition as mass protests continue over the nation’s disputed presidential poll.’ – BBC
Learning the lessons
‘Alistair Darling will tomorrow demand that the directors of Britain’s battered banks ditch their short-termist approach to quick profits, as he sets out the main lessons for the City to learn from the financial crisis of the past two years.’ – Larry Elliott, The Guardian
‘Chancellor Alistair Darling does not plan fundamental reform of the way UK financial institutions are regulated.’ – BBC
‘The number of bosses who can see green shoots appearing in the economy has doubled since February, according to a ComRes survey for The Independent.’ – Andrew Grice, The Independent
Tories in trouble in Europe
‘David Cameron’s efforts to form a new group of anti-federalist MEPs have run into difficulty within days of the European parliamentary elections.’ – David Charter, The Times
‘If Cameron’s fake German accent had been better, would it have been OK for him to mock ID cards? Or has his inner Tory twit now been fatally exposed? Either way the Tory leader was probably unwise to adopt the sort of German tones last used by Herr Flick in ‘Allo ‘Allo to attack Labour’s plans in Norwich on Monday night. “Can you imagine the consequences?” he asked the hall. “You take the dog for a walk at night and the policeman comes up and says ‘Veer are yur papeers?'”’ – Julian Glover, The Guardian
Speaker election
‘Why I should be Speaker: Three candidates offer their manifestos’ – Parmjit Dhanda, Sir Alan Haselhurst, Sir Patrick Cormack, The Times
Unemployment figures
‘Unemployment increased by 232,000 to a 12-year high of 2.26 million in the three months to April. But the rate that people lost their jobs was not as bad as had been expected.’ – Sky News