Several newspapers around the world covering the continuing global financial crisis are displaying large, prominent images of worried traders holding their heads in their hands. Such illustrations are particularly noticeable in the European press, which suffered an extremely shaky day on Monday, and their headlines are as emotive as the photographs are dramatic. French newspapers Libération and Aujourd’hui / Le Parisien are examples:

Libération (France)
Le jour qui a fait craquer la planète (The day that rocked the planet)

Aujourd’hui / Le Parisien (France)
La grande glissade (The big slump)

Il Giornale (Italy)
È l’11 settembre delle Borse europee (European markets's 9/11)
Italian daily Il Giornale goes as far to say that for Europe’s stock markets Monday was the equivalent of the September 11,  2001 attacks.

Rheinische Post (Germany)
Steinbrück: 'Lagh ist hoch gefährlich' (Steinbrück: 'the situation is very dangerous')
The front page of this German newspaper features a pessimistic quote from the country’s finance minister, Peer Steinbrück, above three photos of worried-looking traders.


Independent (UK)
Secrets of Iraq’s death chamber
The UK newspaper The Independent features a grim investigation into summary executions in Iraqi prisons. Well-known Middle East reporter Robert Fisk writes that hundreds of secret hangings which are often not officially recorded have taken place in a high-security Baghdad jail. His article cites examples of believed cases of mistaken identity, as well as widespread ill-treatment of those executed.

Asharq al-Awsat (Pan-Arabic)
Voter registration has begun ahead of the 2009 presidential election
Afghanistan’s next presidential elections are set for September 2009, but voter registration has started already. Asharq al-Awsat, the pan-Arabic daily newspaper, notes that while the Afghan government and international forces are starting preparations early to encourage people to vote, the Taliban and various nationalist groups are waging campaigns to dissuade people from casting their ballots. The article claims militant groups are using a range of tactics to stifle the democratic process, from burning lorries carrying voter registration papers to handing out pamphlets outside mosques.

Daily Mail (UK)
Oxbridge offers iTunes lectures in a bid to make it more accessible to people across the world
The Daily Mail reports that starting today lectures from leading British universities Oxford and Cambridge will be available for download from the i-Tunes Web site. The move is designed to enable people from around the world to have access to top-notch learning materials.