Tributes to Senator Edward Kennedy
‘Veteran US Senator Edward Kennedy, the brother of former President John F Kennedy, has died at 77, after a long battle with a brain tumour.’ – BBC
‘Tributes were paid to Edward Kennedy in both the UK and Ireland today.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown led UK tributes to Senator Edward Kennedy, saying he would be mourned in “every continent”.’ – The Independent
‘For decades, Kennedy was at the center of the most important issues facing the nation, and he did much to help shape them. A defender of the poor and politically disadvantaged, he set the standard for his party on health care, education, civil rights, campaign-finance reform and labor law.’ – Joe Holley, Washington Post
Middle East peace process
‘Barack Obama is close to brokering an Israeli-Palestinian deal that will allow him to announce a resumption of the long-stalled Middle East peace talks before the end of next month, according to US, Israeli, Palestinian and European officials.’ – Ewen MacAskill and Julian Borger, The Guardian
‘Surely the heart should give a cheer at the hints and signals that suggest Barack Obama will stand before the world next month, either at the UN general assembly or the G20 in Pittsburgh, and launch his own bid for Middle East peace. We have told ourselves for so long that a solution is possible – that everyone knows the contours of an eventual agreement between Israelis and Palestinians – that the urge is almost overwhelming to believe it is within reach.’ – Jonathan Freedland, The Guardian
Is Britain like The Wire?
‘Things have a habit of going embarrassingly awry when politicians descend to populism. So Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, should have known better than pursue an easy headline by comparing parts of Britain to the gang and drug infested streets of The Wire.’ – Leader, The Independent
‘No, he wasn’t referring to David Cameron’s parallel confession to Grazia magazine that he smoked and drank alcohol at Eton, the naughty boy, but to inner-city crime. Naturally, Grayling’s comparison made headlines, complete with cheesecake photos of Wire star Dominic West, who was at Eton with Dave, but it’s basically daft. We’re not comparing like with like.’ – Michael White, The Guardian
Green shoots?
‘Business leaders are more upbeat about the prospects of economic recovery than at any time since the recession began, according to a poll for The Independent.’ – Andrew Grice, The Independent
High-speed rail
‘Network Rail has proposed a new £34bn ($55bn) high-speed railway line linking Scotland and London by 2030.’ – BBC